* Social Action Research

Name: Abby Downing

The client:
Who are they,,, how are they funded?
The SAS is an environmental charity that protects and looks after UKs oceans, waves and beaches. They
do this to make them as safe, healthy and clean as possible via community action, campaigning,
volunteering, conservation, education and scientific research.

when did they start

The organisation was established in 1990 by a group of passionate local surfers and beach lovers who
lived in St Agnes and Porthtowan. The organisation was made to create change in the water/ocean
quality in the UK.

why did they start

The SAS started their organisation because they believed that waves and surfing spots deserve to be seen
as part of UK heritage. The SAS are doing their best to raise awareness of the issue that not everyone
knows about. Theyre raising awareness of the environment, physical and geological factors that create
waves and how they are integral to coastal ecosystems. The SAS researched into what was the problem
and where to sewage was coming from, through this research they could work together and try and stop
the problem to help improve the water quality. Sewage overflow was coming from 31,000 networks
combined. To help raise the awareness this problem could be stopped.
what do they do
Through the help of SAS and supporting companies they aim to create measurable improvements in the
state of the oceans, waves, beaches through public behaviour changes - by raising awareness they can
help people realise that beach litter and sewage dumping in the sea is more harmful than they think and
is ruining the quality of the water. Government policy helping them gain awareness of the issue can help
spread the work widely across the UK. Industry practices - trying to change how where the sewage
overflow goes and how much is distributed into the ocean. The SAS undertake and promote for the
benefit of the public conservation, protection, improvement, and ecologically sustainable management
of the marine environment and associated land, shoreline and structures.
They also aim to not just try and change the beach and ocean quality but to educate the public of the
issues and the conservation and protection of the ocean to enhance the improvements.

What do they do
To achieve our aims SAS:
Influences governments on key issues affecting oceans, beaches and recreational water users and
policies needed to deliver a cleaner and safer marine environment.
Creates volunteering opportunities for individuals and communities to be involved with activities to
safeguard our seas, coastlines and beaches.
Educates communities on the achievable, sustainable solutions, which can help protect our waves,
oceans and beaches.
Challenges industry to adopt better standards to protect our coastal environment.
Promotes scientific, economic and health evidence to support calls for a cleaner and safer marine
environment.
Informs the general public about issues affecting UK waves, oceans and beaches, and those that use
them.

how are they funded?

The SAS gather income to support their aims and ongoing construction and observations of the oceans
and beaches across the UK through membership fees, the sale of merchandise, supporter fundraising
events, project sponsorship, individual and group donations and grant making bodies. The SAS is
managed by voluntary trustees who are responsible for the safeguarding of the aims, objectives and the
direction the SAS goes.
SAS endeavours to have a minimal impact on the environment. SAS will ensure that:
Wherever possible unnecessary use of energy will be eliminated.
Electricity will be sourced from renewable suppliers.
Reduce the needs to transport people and goods and encourage low impact travel.
Purchase goods and services that cause least harm to the environment.
Avoid waste and promote the conservation, reuse and appropriate recycling of resources.
Constantly strive to source materials, sponsors and suppliers with the lowest environmental impact.
Encourage staff awareness of their responsibility for the environment.
Promote understanding and participation in environmental issues through education, scientific reports, engaging
activists, information provision and consultation.
Work with and encourage other organisations, companies and sponsors to protect the environment.
http://www.sas.org.uk/funding/

The issues:
What issues your client campaign on?
Water quality
Right around the UK there are threats to the bathing waters and surf spots which
include sewage contamination which comes from dumping and also sewage
overflow from thousands of different industries. Another threat is diffuse
pollution which can come from the leakage of septic tanks. The discharge of the
sewage can potentially bring all kinds of health and environmental issues. The
environmental agency is responsible for the testing of the bathing waters but only
in bathing season which is may 15th-september 30th the samples are analysed
against the standards set in bathing waters directive.
The SAS work with community initiatives including facts,
oils and greases to help protect the UK bathing waters and
Marine environments. To help them lobby for improvements
they persuade the public to tell them about any illness they
may have potentially gained from the sea.

The issues:
(issue continued)
What issues your client campaign on?
Climate change
The impact of climate change will change the whole of the planet In different ways.
The climate change report examines the possible impacts a changing climate could have on
our waves, oceans and beaches.
In order to limit the impact of the climate change the SAS encourage communities,
government and the individual to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This will reduce
the probability of extreme events caused by climate change including global collapse of
major ice sheets of shut down of gulf stream.
The 2008 UK Climate Change Act is legislation to ensure the UK reduces its greenhouse gas
emissions by 80% by 2050 (80% below levels in 1990) to help avoid catastrophic climate
change. It included the implementation
of the Committee on Climate Change, an
independent body to monitor the
Government's progress on emissions reductions
and to set 'carbon budgets'.
www.sas.org.uk

The issues:
(issue continued)
What issues your client campaign on?
Protect Our Waves
The SAS campaigns in a number of ways to highlight and protect sites of special surfing interest. They
campaign to increase public awareness of the subject and to build relationships with the subject, they
create better understanding that waves are a vital part of the socio economic fabric of many UK coastal
communities. The campaigns include POW petition (CALLING FOR 50,000 SIGNATURES TO PROTECT UK WAVES.
SEWAGE, LITTER AND OFFSHORE DEVELOPMENTS ARE THREATENING TO KILL OUR WAVES. SIGN OUR PETITION TO SAVE THEM.)
marine spatial panning and consultation on environmental impact assessments for coastal developments and industry.
Although you may still see the waves breaking perfectly (see picture) and they look like they are not going to go extinct,
so why can you not still surf in them? Because pollution alters the water chemically but not physically, all the pollution
going into the sea including lead, pesticides, zinc, nuclear waste, hydrocarbons and sewage. These harm the sea to make
you not being able to go in it safely. These chemicals are not safe to be in for humans and animals, but they have to live in
the water which is why this issue is so important for saving lives.
Another type of dangerous pollution problem is non contaminated but still dangerous litter although it is not chemically
dangerous it is physically. Litter is forever killing animals as theyre mislabeling it for food or simply getting court and
tangled up in it.

What issues your client campaign on?

Marine Litter
The SAS tackle the rapidly growing tide of marine
litter that washes up on the beach every year.
The rapidly rising number of SAS beach cleans help
directly remove marine litter from the
environment and raise public awareness, and
longer term SAS initiatives including Return To
Offender, Break the Bag Habit, Think Before You
Flush and No Butts on the Beach aim to solve litter
problems on a larger scale.
Whilst educating thousands of people they gain
volunteers that clean and mobilise over 5000
beaches.

Facts and figures:

Use this space to highlight key facts and figures related to this project. These
could be very useful later on in your project as you try to raise awareness.
How long it takes for litter to break down in the ocean
Paper bus and parking tickets: 2 - 4 weeks.
Orange and banana peel: up to 2 years.
Cigarette butts: 1 - 5 years.
Plastic bags: 10 - 20 years.
Foam cups and tin cans: 50 years.
Aluminum cans: at least 80 years. Plastic bottles: 450 years.
Fine fishing net: at least 600 years (much longer for heavier nets).
Glass bottles: 1 million years.
One million seabirds are killed by marine litter every year.
100,000 turtles and marine mammals, such as dolphins, whales and seals, are killed by plastic marine litter every year around the
world.
Plastics are the most common man made objects sighted at sea, with 18,000 pieces of plastic litter floating on every square
kilometer of the world's oceans!
Six million tones of debris enters the world's oceans every year, weighing about the same as a million elephants!
More than 260 animal species worldwide have become entangled in or consumed fishing line, nets, ropes and other discarded
equipment.
An astounding 86 per cent of all marine turtles are affected by marine debris.
Every day ships throughout the world discard 5.5 million pieces of rubbish into our oceans.
Carbon emissions into our atmosphere are killing our coral reefs! Our oceans are absorbing the excess carbon dioxide and becoming
more acidic. The acid is literally eating away' the skeleton of the corals.