On Wednesday 11 June, staff from Student Advice and Guidance came together on Brighton beach for a day of activities focussed on connecting with each other, supporting our wellbeing, and giving back to the community.

Meeting at Yellowave on the Kemptown side of the beach, in the morning staff chose between beach volleyball, watercolour painting, or meditation. It was great to have a mix of activities that met people’s different needs and moods and allowed for socialising, energetic release, and creativity. After a walk along the promenade and lunch at Shelter Hall, we were ready for our beach clean.

The clean was supported by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) who provided us with all the materials we needed – the essential bags, litter-grabbers and gloves – along with advice and safety information to make sure everything ran smoothly. Our clean was part of SAS’s annual Million Mile Clean, taking place every year until 2030 to tackle plastic pollution on our coastlines, canal paths, bridleways and city streets. Anyone can sign up by registering their clean with Surfers Against Sewage.

Working solo, in pairs or threes we fanned out along the beach and covered the area between Shelter Hall and Maroccos ice cream parlour, scanning the pebbles, shoreline and pavement as we went.

Although the beach looked extremely clean at first sight, it was surprising and concerning how much litter we found once we started looking closely. Items collected included: hundreds of cigarette butts and bottle-tops; disposable vapes; many shards and shreds of plastic of various origins; fragments of fishing equipment; discarded building materials like screws, washers and cable ties; a single, sea-battered AirPod; and a discarded firework.

It was gratifying to know we were stopping these items from being washed into the sea while also making the beach a safer place to relax and enjoy for walkers, sunbathers and swimmers. Our beach clean could also help protect life in our ocean – plastics left on the beaches and seas break down into ever smaller parts and can enter the ocean food chain.

While we were cleaning, many members of the public stopped to ask us about what we were doing, to enquire about Surfers Against Sewage, and to express their gratitude.

No treasure was discovered unfortunately, but a piece of wood found by one creative beach-cleaner was fashioned into a makeshift trophy.

After two hours of cleaning, we gathered back together and had the satisfaction of seeing all the bags of litter we’d collectively removed from the beach. It was wonderful to know we’d played a part in keeping Brighton beach beautiful, as it’s a place beloved by so many staff and students at the University. We ended with a well-earned drink in the sun, on a day that felt like the first of (hopefully) many summery beach days to come.

• Find out more about how to book staff volunteering leave