This week Surfers Against Sewage is launching Global Wave Wednesday, a new campaign action uniting surfers from around the globe in the call to protect UK waves from pollution, marine litter and over-development.  SAS is calling on surfers, environmentalists and ocean lovers to join them and the coalition of wave and ocean protections organisations on Wednesday, 15^th May, for this global day of action to protect our waves.

Global Wave Wednesday will be the first time the global wave protection community has joined forces to highlight calls to protect natural surfing resources.  A broad & diverse range of organisations are supporting Global Wave Wednesday, covering almost every coastline in the world.  The supporting partners include the world’s biggest surfing NGOs, grass roots environmental organisations, leading oceanographers, and surfing federations.

Global Wave Wednesday partners will be helping secure 100,000 signatures for the Protect Our Waves petition, which calls on the UK parliament to debate the value of surfing waves and locations, and legislation in order to recognise the importance of waves as a cultural, social, economic and environmental asset to coastal communities.  Peru, New Zealand and Australia already have legislation that protects surf spots and the sport of surfing, and SAS hopes to deliver the same level of recognition and protection for the UK.

Surf protection groups supporting SAS’s POW petition on Global Wave Wednesday include:

• Surfrider Foundation (USA & Hawaii)
• Surfrider Foundation Europe (France, Spain, Holland, Germany, Italy)
• Save The Waves Coalition (International)
• National Surfing Reserves (Australia)
• WiLDCOAST (Mexico)
• Salvem o Surf (Portugal)
• Surfers’ Environmental Alliance (USA)
• World Surfing Reserves (International)
• Surfbreak Protection Society (New Zealand)
• LiVBLUE (USA & Mexico)
• Ocean Revolution (USA & Mexico)
• SurfEns (Mexico)
• DGCostera (Peru)

There are an estimated 23 million surfers worldwide* and the combined supporter base of Global Wave Wednesday partners exceeds 500,000. Surfers are passionate about protecting waves from inappropriate coastal developments and pollution and to ensure they have sustainable access to their waves.

SAS Campaign Director Andy Cummins says:  “It’s great to have surfers from all over globe standing up to protect UK waves as part of Global Wave Wednesday!  Surfers are part of a global community, often travelling to experience new waves in new countries.  We believe that UK surfers deserve to enjoy clean waves and we want to be able to promote the UK as a clean wave destination.”  

Surfrider Foundation (USA) Environment Director Chad Nelsen says: “Global Wave Wednesday is a great first step in unifying the world’s surf protection organisations and the Surfrider Foundation is proud to be supporting the Protect Our Waves petition today.  Surfing is a truly global sport and we travel the world in search of clean, healthy and exciting waves so we have a vested interest in supporting wave protection in the UK and around the world.”

Executive Director, DGCostera Carlo Grigolletto says: “Peru has a rich heritage and culture of surfing and we are lucky to already have laws that recognise and protect our unique and world-renowned surf spots. Peruvian surfers are stoked to be part of Global Wave Wednesday supporting calls for UK waves to be protected in a similar way, for everyone, for now and for ever.”

Surfing was first introduced to the UK in 1890 in Bridlington (North Yorkshire) by two visiting Hawaiian princes*.  Since then the UK has established itself as a genuine surfing location. There are world class waves in every corner of the UK and numerous UK beaches have a rich history of hosting international competitions.  Surfers in the UK spend an average of 8.5% more than the other coastal tourists*.  Surfing supports coastal economies outside the traditional tourist season, as the waves are generally best in spring, autumn and winter.  However, some of the UK’s best waves are under threat:

North Cornish Coast:  Several of the best Cornish surfing beaches, including St Ives Bay & Perranporth are under threat from a dredging proposal.  The dredging proposal could result in negative impacts on important coastal processes, reanimating pollutants and enforced restricts on using the sea for all water users.  SAS are engaged in the Environmental Impact Assessment process and have raised significant concerns within the scoping report.   http://www.sas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/MMO-Scoping-Opinion-Response-SAS.pdf

Broad Bench, South Coast:  One of the best waves in the UK, known as Broad Bench, is found on the outer limited of the Lulworth MoD firing range.  Currently the wave can be off limits to surfers for up to 228 days a year, including the best seasons for waves at Broad Bench.  SAS are working together with the local surf community and the MoD to try and find solution that can allow the MoD full access to their firing range and increase the access surfers can have at Broad Bench.

Saltburn, North East Coast:  Saltburn has a thriving surfing community but yet the water quality is failing European standards that are so inadequate they are in the process of being superseded by more stringent standards.  The water quality at Saltburn and other beaches around the UK failing these standards is of extra concern to surfers as we immerse and ingest more than the average bather.  Health risks associated with bathing in sewage polluted waters include: ear, nose & throat infections, gastro enteritis, Hep A, Ecoli etc.

UK surfers and those from across the globe need precious surf spots & waves protecting from inappropriate developments, from damaging levels of pollution & marine litter, and restricted access.  SAS continues to be one of the leading voices, protecting UK waves and representing the surfing community from the beach to the boardroom.

SAS Campaign Director Andy Cummins will be presenting the POW petition to the Global Wave Conference delegates and encouraging the global surf protection movement to help support this vital petition.  Make sure you are part of this movement by signing the petition at www.protectourwaves.org.uk

SAS Executive Director Hugo Tagholm will be summing up the conference up on the final day, with the Directors of Surfrider International and Wildcoast.  There will be plenty of Protect Our Waves issues covered and SAS has an ambitious programme of POW actions to deliver throughout the conference.  You can join in the Global Waves Conference by following SAS on twitter @sascampaigns we’ll be waiting for your interaction #GWC2013.  And keep dropping into our Facebook page to hear the latest Global Wave conference news and Protect Our Wave outcomes.

SAS has serious concerns about the project and how Marine Minerals Limited is operating. Marine Minerals Limited is simultaneously making very limited information available whilst they and their PR agency are promoting unsubstantiated claims.  Marine Minerals Limited is yet to announce the method of dredging they will use to remove tens of millions of tonnes of sediment from the North Cornish coast, or how they have arrived at the number of jobs they believe their proposed activity will create.  Without this information SAS and other stakeholders cannot identify the level of environmental impact that will be felt at the coast or the true number of established jobs that could be threatened or new employment that might be generated within the county.

Marine Minerals Limited has no excuse for not securing the appropriate licences before undertaking the seabed sampling work within St Ives Bay.  SAS not only referenced the Coastal Protection Act 1949 but also even named the licencing authority in their response to Marine Minerals Limited’s scoping opinion.  The Marine Management Organisation also clearly stated in relation to every license they grant that they “…would further advise you that the issue of this licence does not absolve you from seeking any other consents or approvals which may be required before you embark upon the work to which it refers.”  It’s clear that the responsibility to ensure all licences and permissions falls with the applicant, Marine Minerals Limited.

Surfers Against Sewage’s Campaign Director Andy Cummins says:  “Carrying out these works without the relevant permissions, as Marine Minerals Limited has, are not the actions of a responsible developer.  Showing such blatant disregard for the environment and the licencing authorities demonstrates why SAS is right to have serious concerns about this proposal.  The North Cornish coast is too valuable to allow irresponsible and unprofessional operators to carry out potentially devastating works.”

A spokesperson from the North Coast Protection Association said: “North Coast Protection Association (NCPA) are disappointed, but not surprised to learn of this development. Already we are aware of the countless contradictions made by Marine Minerals Ltd (MML) in their public relations and application documents which can only be seen as disingenous at best. We continue to have serious concerns that this company does not act in a professional way and the potential loss of jobs, and damage to the environment are simply too great to allow the project to go ahead”.

Cornwall Seal Group co-ordinator says: “I am sad to say that this description fits with our experience of Marine Minerals Limited. Marine Minerals Limited  forced Cornwall Seal Group to work to extremely short deadlines of a few days because Marine Minerals Limited had booked a sampling boat before having obtained their original MMO sampling license.”

SAS are pleased that Cornwall Council is in the process of writing to both the MMO and Marine Minerals Limited setting out that it fully expects to that should Marine Minerals Limited wish to conduct either further sampling runs, or a larger scale extraction of materials from the sea bed, it is to first to get permission from Cornwall Council for this extraction as the licensing authority under the 2002 Order.  However, SAS are extremely disappointed that a prosecution is not being sought.   

The UK’s coastline and surfing waves need better protection from inappropriate developments like this and pollution.  Join SAS in calling for legislation to Protect Our Waves by signing the petition at www.protectourwaves.org.uk

SAS, Ben Fogle and Barefoot Wine are leading the way in a campaign to keep Britain’s beaches ‘barefoot friendly’ in 2013. The national campaign, now in its sixth year, will kick off at Ben’s childhood beach of Climping in West Sussex in May, visiting 14 beaches across England, Scotland and Wales throughout the summer. Ben will also be personally hosting several of the beach cleans alongside SAS and together we are calling for coastal communities to join us on their favourite beaches.

Ben Fogle, who also led the Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project in 2012, says: “I’ve been involved in environmental issues for years and I’m passionate about the outdoors. A seemingly clean beach can actually have huge amounts of litter and rubbish just hidden beneath the surface, it’s a bit like sweeping rubbish under the carpet. The Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project makes tackling environmental issues fun and an activity that everyone can get involved with.”

“The 2012 Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project saw over 3 tonnes of litter collected from the UK’s coastline, including a sawn off shot gun, old signage and lots of tin cans! A staggering 10 tonnes of litter has been removed from our coastline since the campaign begun and I’m excited about building on this success and encouraging even more people to get involved.”

SAS has once again teamed up with Barefoot Wine to encourage beach loving volunteers to join in the coastal clean at their local beaches. Events will run from 2pm – 4pm, after collecting a free Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project t-shirt and beach clean equipment, volunteers will spend an afternoon collecting litter along their local beach, and end the day with a celebratory glass of Barefoot Wine.

SAS Campaign Officer, Dom Ferris says: “The record breaking Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project gives the UK’s coastal communities the opportunity to make a real and noticeable difference to the health of our precious coastline. In 2012 we were truly humbled by the efforts of our volunteers and we’re excited to join forces with even more beach lovers to tackle the tide line of trash again in 2013”

The SAS Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project – Dates and Locations (*Ben Fogle attendance). All beach cleans will run from 2pm – 4pm:

May Events:

• Saturday 4th May -  Portsmouth –  Southsea – Clarence Pier, PO5 3AA
• Sunday 5th May -  Essex Southend – Jubilee Beach, SS1 2EJ
• Monday 6th May - Littlehampton - * Climping, BN17 5RN (Ben’s childhood beach)
• Friday 10th May – Falmouth – Swanpool and Gyllyngvase – Next to Swanpool Beach Café, TR11 5BG
• Saturday 11th May – Perranporth – In front of the main car park, TR6 0BH
• Sunday 12th May - North Devon - Saunton – At the bottom of the slipway, EX33 1LQ
• Friday 31st May -  Cardiff * - Penarth Pier, CF64 3AU

June Events:

• Saturday 1st June - Liverpool – Wirral – Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton Beach, CH45 2JS
• Sunday 2nd June – Blackpool - Lytham & St Annes, FY8 1LH

July Events:

• Saturday 6th July – Brighton – At the SAS tent in the Paddle Round The Pier Village, BN3 2FR
• Friday 19th July – London – * Thames – South Bank, Gabriel’s Wharf , SE1 9PP

August & September Events:

• Saturday 31st August - Scarborough – South Bay , YO11 1NU
• Sunday 1st September - Saltburn – South of the pier, TS12 1HQ
• Monday 2nd September – Fife – * St Andrews – West Sands beach – KY16 9XL

Britain has the thirteenth longest coastline in the world and our beaches provide a fantastic day out for everyone but currently there are almost 2,000 items of marine litter for every km of the UK’s beaches. Marine litter can devastate our beaches and severely affect our enjoyment of these beautiful places. The majority of beach users rank cleanliness as a priority in choosing their destination and a 2005 ENCAMS study showed that 97% of people avoided beaches with 10, or more, large litter items per metre.

“Barefoot Wine is very proud to be working with Ben Fogle for what’s set to be another exciting year of the Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project”, said Barefoot Wine Marketing Manager, Yona Ellis “Ben Fogle is the ideal ambassador to raise awareness of our coastline and inspire people to make the UK’s beaches ‘barefoot friendly’ for future generations and beyond. We are pleased to be working with Surfers Against Sewage for the sixth year in a row and all our Barefooters are looking forward to helping out at the clean ups and serving volunteers a well-deserved glass of Barefoot Wine!”

For more information about the SAS Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project 2013, please visit www.sas.org.uk. To register for your local beach clean please contact dom@sas.org.uk or call 01872 553001.

We’ve been celebrating the arrival (well nearly) of Spring but have this week been disappointed to receive reports of two significant sewage discharges in Torbay and on the Isle of Wight, details of which can be found below.

SAS believe that any impact upon bathing water quality caused by avoidable sewerage system failure is un-acceptable and we will always work with water companies, local councils and the Environment Agency to prevent these failures and protect the health of all UK recreational water users.

SAS Sewage Discharge Alert – Torbay – Hopes Nose Emergency Overflow

There is a significant amount of raw sewage discharging into the sea as a result of the collapse of a section of Livermead Road on the Torbay waterfront earlier this week has resulted in damage to the sewerage rising main.

The majority of the raw sewage, an estimated 21,000 cubic metres per day is being discharged directly to the sea via the emergency overflow at Hopes Nose. This will have a direct impact on the water quality at Torre Abbey, Hollicombe and Beacon Cove and people are advised not to use the water. South West Water (SWW) are also tankering some of the sewage to alternative waste water treatment facilities.

There is also an increased risk of sewage pollution at Shoalstone, Broadsands, Goodrington, Paignton Sands, Preston Sands, Meadfoot, Anstey’s, Babbacombe, Oddicombe, Watcombe and Maidencombe.

SWW have advised us that work can only begin fixing the sewerage breach when work has been completed on the sea wall breach, road stabilisation and the gas main secured, which Torbay Council estimate will be on Friday the 5th of April at the earliest. SWW are therefore hopeful that work to fix the sewerage rising main will begin early in the week beginning 8th of April and as yet have not indicated when work will be finished.

SAS Sewage Discharge Alert – Isle of Wight – Fairlee Sewage treatment works, Newport

A significant amount of untreated sewage was discharged into the Medina River after a multiple pump failure at Fairlee Sewage treatment works near Newport for several hours on the morning of Wednesday the 3rd of April. This will impact upon the water quality in the river and surrounding waters for 24 – 48 hours after the incident.

Fairlee is one of the largest pumping stations on the Isle of Wight and was reportedly taken off-line to allow work to be carried out on a main sewer. When switched back on three pumps became blocked with a build-up of non-biodegradable items, such as sanitary products and cleaning wipes, and failed to start resulting in the discharge of raw sewage into the river.

We are becoming increasingly concerned with the frequency at which Southern Water’s systems are failing, this is the third major sewerage system failure in less than 12 months. On the 30th of May 2012 the Foreness Point Sewage Pumping Station near Margate failed, resulting in huge amounts of untreated sewage entering the sea for several days with more than 20 Thanet beaches being closed from the 4th to the 12th of June. And early in September 2012 at Shoreham beach a catastrophic technical error led to almost 40 million litres of untreated sewage being discharged directly into the sea and many people literally being evacuated from the sea for their safety.

We are also troubled by reports that in all cases public warnings were delayed and extremely vague at best. Although an investigation has been launched into the Fairlee pumping station incident by Southern Water and the Environment Agency, SAS believe more must be done to stop preventable incidents like these from occurring and putting the health of water users and the marine environment at risk and call on the Environment Agency to take legal action where necessary.

Surfers Against Sewage are concerned at the impacts upon water quality and will be issuing updates on Facebook, Twitter and at www.sas.org.uk, as well as informing subscribers to SAS’s Sewage Alert Service via free SMS warning messages. People can also sign up to SAS’s Sewage Alert System to receive free real time text warnings when sewage is discharging at over 200 UK beaches here. SAS would also call on the Isle of Wight communities to think before you flush, sanitary items should never be flushed down the toilet as they can cause blockages in the sewerage system resulting in spills like this.

Surfers Against Sewage’s IoW rep Matt Harwood says: “I would hope following this incident that Southern Water proactively look at how to mitigate this incident from happening again and review how this can be prevented in the future. On an Island where large numbers of our population are recreational year round water users, whether it be sailing, surfing or swimming and our coastlines and beaches are a major pull for our tourism industry, failures like this are unacceptable. Water companies have a responsibility to maintain infrastructure and ensure they can deal with blockages and capacity”.

For any further enquiries or to report sewage pollution incidents in your area contact dom@sas.org.uk or call 01872 553001.

The key headlines from the survey were:

• Over three quarters of surfers (77%) describe themselves as ‘very concerned’ about marine conservation issues.
• 94% of surfers believe that pollution from sewage outlets to be a serious problem.
• 98% of surfers believe that marine litter is a serious problem.
• 92% of surfers believe that inappropriate coastal development is a serious problem.
• There is evidence of growing concern about the marine environment over the last 5 years, and high proportions of surfers say that they are seeing more sewage and pollution (60%) and litter (73%) when they surf.
• Surfers say that they are keen to minimise their own environmental impact and 95% say they would actively choose businesses that are working to protect the marine environment.
• Over half (54%) of surfers that took part in the survey agreed that they would even be “prepared to pay a small donation (e.g. £1, $1, €1) each time they go surfing, to protect the marine environment.”

Survey respondents displayed considerable knowledge about the issues facing the oceans, suggesting that surfers are passionate advocates for the environment they enjoy. One surfer summed up the concerns thus: “There will be nothing left of it, just dead water, if we do not stop abusing it.

Support for Surfers Against Sewage also highlights growing environmental awareness amongst UK surfers. The organisation has seen a huge increase in engagement with its community beach cleans, Sewage Alert Service and the wide range of environmental initiatives it delivers specifically for the surfing community.

Hugo Tagholm, Executive Director of Surfers Against Sewage said “Surfers Against Sewage has been at the forefront of representing the UK surfing community on environmental, health and wave protection issues for over 20 years. The survey strongly reflects sentiments we see regularly amongst supporters at our beach cleans, campaign actions and community initiatives. We are seeing fast growing engagement with our campaigns on marine litter, sewage pollution and wave protection, demonstrating a community taking action on the issues they are directly affected by, and care passionately about. We’d encourage all surfers to join SAS to get more involved in protecting waves, oceans and beaches nationwide.”

Sea-Changers believes that the results of this survey represents a growing desire among UK surfers and other sea-users to see much more being done to protect the marine environment enjoyed by so many.

Helen Webb, Co-Founder of Sea-Changers said: “It is really important that Sea-Changers understand the issues and concerns of the surfing community regarding marine conservation. Our aim is to develop a community of Sea-Changers, concerned businesses and individuals from the sailing, surfing, diving and sea-using community.

 “Each community has different perspectives on marine conservation and if we are to successfully harness the enthusiasm of those who enjoy the sea we need to be well informed. That is why surveys like this are helpful. One of the most striking findings from the survey was the almost unanimous response from respondents saying they would be more supportive of marine businesses that show a responsible attitude. This is a key message we need to get across when we speak to surf-related retailers and service providers.”

Hundreds of volunteers will be cleaning beaches from the Orkney Isles to the Lands’ End, at locations chosen by local communities because of the accumulation of marine litter. Sadly, the springtime reveals the true severity of the marine litter crisis. The impact of winter storms and in absence of seasonal council beach cleaning operations, the build-up of litter can be truly shocking. Typical examples of marine litter include rubbish from beach users, sewage-related debris, waste from commercial shipping, nets and fish boxes from fishing vessels and medical waste.

Big Spring Beach Cleans will take place on 22nd, 23rd & 24th March between 11am and 2pm (unless otherwise stated) and SAS is calling for volunteers everywhere to join the effort. The events are an important part of SAS’s growing conservation programme, helping communities tackle environmental issues through engaging, fun and effective initiatives, safeguarding special and unique beaches for everyone to enjoy. Find your nearest Big Spring Beach Clean below and bring along family and friends to help make this our biggest Big Spring Beach Clean ever!

(*Beach cleans being run by private organisations for their clients only)

Marine pollution is a direct threat to SAS’s vision of clean, sustainable, thriving coastal communities existing in harmony with nature. Marine litter can devastate our beaches and severely affect the public’s enjoyment of these beautiful places. The majority of beach users rank cleanliness as a priority in choosing their destination and a 2005 ENCAMS study showed that 97% of people avoided beaches with 10, or more, large litter items per metre.

Hugo Tagholm, SAS Executive Director says: “The marine litter crisis is a major issue hitting beautiful beaches right around the UK. The SAS Big Spring Beach Clean empowers communities and educates the public on how we can all play our part in turning the tide of marine litter.”

Plastics makes up the vast majority of marine litter and never truly break down. Experts suggest plastic left in the environment will be with us in some microscopic form many thousands of years. When in the sea, plastics can adsorb toxic chemicals, becoming increasingly harmful over time, and often entering the food chain when mistaken for food items by marine organisms. Over 100,000 marine mammals and over 1 million seabirds die every year from ingestion of and entanglement in marine litter.

To register for your local Big Spring Beach Clean or for more information please contact Maren Eriksen on 01872 553 001 or projects@sas.org.uk

SAS would like to thank Klean Kanteen, Speedo International and the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) for their support in making this project possible.

SAS will provide bin bags and antibacterial hand wash, there will be a certain number of heavy duty gloves at each clean but encourage people to bring their own where possible. For more information please contact SAS on 01872 553 001 or email projects@sas.org.uk and keep up to date with all SAS campaigns and events at www.sas.org.uk (*Events being run by private organisations for their clients only)

Office Administrator (Part-Time)
Role Summary

• Hours: 22.5 hours per week
• Salary: £14,000 pro-rata (3 days week – 22.5 hours a week)
• Holidays: 25 days per year plus Bank Holidays pro-rata
• DOWNLOAD JD – CLICK HERE
• DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM – CLICK HERE

Surfers Against Sewage
Surfers Against Sewage is an environmental charity protecting the UK’s oceans, waves and beaches for all to enjoy safely and sustainably, via community action, campaigning, volunteering, conservation, education and scientific research.
SAS projects target environmental issues affecting beaches including marine litter, sewage pollution, climate change, toxic chemicals, shipping and coastal development. SAS has over 50,000 active supporters across the UK.

Office Administration

• Ensuring all staff have equipment necessary to perform their roles.
• Overseeing all office systems – i.e. computers, phones, photocopier, internet, alarm
• Responsible for maintenance of van (booking service/MOT/repairs), environmentally friendly breakdown cover, insurance and tax etc.
• Ensuring that the office (foyer, 1st floor, remains well-presented and displays (posters, pictures, hangings) are updated appropriately.
• Responsible for Insurance, Fire and Health and Safety provisions in the office, including writing policies and risk assessments and ensuring they are reviewed annually and that staff are aware of their own responsibilities and are adequately trained where necessary.
• Responsible for ensuring the office is compliant with current business regulations eg Cookie Law, PCIDSS, Data Protection, Health & Safety
• Maintain and update company policies (equal-opportunities, health and safety, training and development) and maintain the current staff handbook
• Maintain personnel files
• Induction of new staff
• Assist the Executive Director in recruiting new staff i.e. advertising job vacancies, processing applications and writing to successful & unsuccessful candidates

Volunteer Co-ordination

• Responding to all enquiries for internships, volunteering and work experience.
• Supervising volunteers and work experience students within the office.
• To recruit and retain SAS volunteers, develop links with volunteer providing organisations and maintain and update volunteer database
• To develop a regular volunteering capacity to support membership processing, events and data entry.
• Facilitate access to volunteer resources for SAS campaigns, events and other activities.

Membership & Supporter Duties

Ensuring quick and efficient processing of membership orders, and accurate processing of supporter data, including;

• Prepare weekly cash & cheque batches and daily credit card & Sagepay batches and record transactions on Sage.
• Record new/renewing members on the database & record special offer codes/giveaways.
• Print & send membership letters & packs.
• With the assistance of the Admin Assistant and volunteers pack and send out membership packs within a week of the order.
• Reconcile and prepare ad-hoc batches (Events etc) on Sage.
• Responsible for the smooth running and development of the direct debit system, including overseeing the move to paperless direct debits and keeping up to date with current direct debit processes.
• Set up new direct debits with Teledebit and payee’s banks and record on the database.
• Action queries, amendments and deletion instructions for direct debits
• Update database and print letters for direct debit payers each month via database query.
• Develop data imputing guidelines for existing systems.
• Recruit regular volunteers to assist with data input requirements from events, e-newsletter and other supporter sources.
• File relevant paperwork.
General
• Reception duties
• Answer general phone calls
• Turn off and set answer machine and deal with any messages left
• Open & distribute daily post
• Prepare post for collection daily
• Deal with emails to info@sas.org.uk
• Respond to requests for general information and compile and send out information packs
• Ensure adequate stationery levels are maintained and place orders as required
• Settle credit card machine at the end of the day
• Take cash and cheques to the bank on a weekly basis and collect petty cash if required
• In the absence of the Finance Manager, back up Sage if changes have been made
• Prepare cheques on an ad-hoc basis (e.g. for milkman)
• Set up out-of-office messages on reception phone and info@sas email during holiday periods
• Attend SAS stands at key events
• In absence of Membership Manager be responsible for evacuating the first floor of the office in event of a fire/fire drill.
• Any other duties as required by the Executive Director

This role is Line Managed by the Executive Director, however working closely with the Membership & Merchandise Manager, Merchandise Admin Assistant and Finance Officer will be required at certain times.

If you are interested in applying for this position, please read the enclosed job description and complete the application form and return it to wendy@sas.org.uk or:

Wendy Nicolson
Surfers Against Sewage
Wheal Kitty Workshops
St Agnes
Cornwall
TR5 0RD

The closing date for applications is Friday 15th March 2013 at noon.
We aim to hold interviews week commencing 18th March.

Surfers Against Sewage values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Please help us monitor this by completing the enclosed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form and returning it with your application form. We will separate it from the application form and it will not form part of the selection process.

We’ve got POW Valentine messages ranging from the outrageously risqué, to sickly sweet.  Be proud to help protect the waves we all love. 

ACTION: Download these fun POW Valentine’s images (copy, save and share far and wide.)

ACTION:  Tag, tweet and email your female (and/or male) across Facebook, twitter and your address book. 

ACTION: Remember to make sure you’ve signed Protect Our Waves petition (www.protectourwaves.org.uk ).   

Recent POW activity: 

RAMPION:  We were delighted to announce that after its crucial intervention with E.ON, the Rampion offshore wind farm developers, potentially catastrophic damage to local surfing waves has now been averted.

E.ON initially identified a potential reduction in wave height of up to 22% for surfing beaches in and around Brighton as a result of the planned renewable energy development. This would have been a major blow to the substantial local surf community and important related economy.  However, thanks to vital discussions between SAS, E.ON and leading local surfers and surfing-related businesses, the developers have reassessed their plans to minimise impacts on important local surfing breaks.  This outcome will deliver a win-win for sustainable energy and local surfers.

Read the full story here:   

Dreading Dredging?  We recently called on communities in North Cornwall to submit opinions on a massive and potentially devastating coastal dredging proposal.  Marine Minerals Limited are applying for a license to remove millions of tonnes of sediment from North Cornwall’s sea bed as little as 200 meters offshore at some of Cornwall’s premier beaches, including; St Ives Bay, Porthtowan, St Agnes & Perranporth.  We will continue to represent surfers, other recreational water sports users and the environment throughout this contentious licensing proposal. 

Read the full story here:

And HUGE thanks Leon Nikoosimaitak for designing these great cards.  Check out Leon’s work here.  And thanks also to Greg Martin, Ollie Howe and Ian Forsyth for donating the images.

And thanks to Rip Curl Planet for their ongoing support of the POW campaigns. 

If you have any concerns about this proposal, please register them with the Marine Management Organisation by Friday, 8^th February. Marine.consents@marinemanagement.org.uk  

SAS first raised concerns about this issue when the new Protect Our Waves petition was launched in August 2012.  http://www.protectourwaves.org.uk/case-studies.php There are many potential adverse impacts associated with a proposal of this type, but SAS is especially concerned about threats to vital coastal processes, the marine environment, marine wildlife and local surfing resources.  The North Cornish coastline is a valuable natural environment, already supporting thousands of jobs and generating millions of pounds for the region.  Surfing alone brings in £64 million to Cornwall’s economy and supports 1,600 full time jobs.  

The dredging proposal targets tin reserves stored in the sand, washed out from Cornwall’s historic mining activity.  The dredging areas Marine Minerals Limited has identified are also some of Cornwall’s premier beach resorts.  The proposal requests permission to dredge as close as 200 meters from the shore.  Several millions of tonnes of sediment will be removed, with approximately 5% of the sediment refined for further use and the remaining 95% returned to the sea floor. 

Throughout the licencing application the MMO has an obligation to identify the potential worst-case scenario.  SAS are contacting the MMO and listing the following concerns.

Coastal Processes: 

Removing and replacing several millions of tonnes of sediment has the potential to disrupting the natural build-up of sediment.  This sediment plays a vital role in encouraging waves to break offshore, dissipating the majority of the wave’s energy before the waves reach the shore.

Disrupting the sediment could also impact on sand levels in the intertidal zones and above the high tide line at the beach.  This could significantly reduce the quality of surfing waves and impair the beach experience for local residents and tourists.   

Reanimating pollutants:

Disrupting the sediment around the river mouths at St Ives Bay, Porthtowan, St Agnes and Perranporth could also reanimate pathogens associated with Combined Sewer Overflow discharges and heavy metals used in mining.  These could have serious impacts on the health of water users and the wider environment

Flora and fauna: 

Removing millions of tons of sediment, processing it, then dumping it back on the seafloor it will impact biodiversity in the area.  The species potentially at risk include seals, sharks, dolphins, crustaceans (crabs, lobsters etc.), sea fans and many more.  They all play important roles in regulating our marine environment and support wildlife watching eco-tourism and diving.  The special flora and fauna obviously support the important fishing economy, culturally important to the region.         

SAS Campaign Director Andy Cummins says:  “Disturbing and removing significant amounts of sediment from the North Cornish coast has the potential to devastate the fragile and complex environments that support surfing, tourism and fishing.  SAS are raising these concerns and will continue to engage through the licencing application and we urge any interested parties to do the same.” 

SAS will continue to consult on the proposal and ensure that surfers, waveriders and coastal communities are represented throughout the licencing process.  You can support SAS’s concerns on this dredging proposal by signing the Protect Our Waves petition at www.protectourwaves.org.uk

Read SAS’s scoping opinion response here.