Jenny Gilruth MSP joins local school pupils to make Leven Beach more beautiful

More than 100 pupils from three local schools joined us and two other environmental charities at Leven Beach on Friday 26 September 2025 to survey and pick up litter – leaving the sand cleaner and preventing waste from polluting our seas and potentially harming wildlife.

The pupils from Balcurvie Primary School, St Agatha’s RC Primary School, and Parkhill Primary School were joined by local MSP Jenny Gilruth at the event which raised the profile of the litter emergency facing Scotland.  Collaborating with Fife Coast and Countryside Trust who manage Fife’s beaches, and the Marine Conservation Society which runs the Great British Beach Clean during September, our employees facilitated a survey of litter found on the beach and a litter pick.  The participants removed eight bags of waste – including a shopping basket, a metal pole, a shoe, a sock, and lots of small items including cigarette butts and fishing related items.

With 9 in 10 people across Scotland viewing litter as a problem nationally monitoring the issue, picking up litter and disposing of it appropriately and having conversations about what we can all do to stop litter at source is vital.   

Jenny Gilruth MSP said, “I was pleased to organise a local beach clean in Leven, with help from local pupils at Balcurvie, St Agatha’s, and Parkhill Primary Schools, supported by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The young people’s energy and commitment was incredible to see, and their hard work has made a real difference to our community’s coastline.

“Leven’s beach is a proud recipient of Scotland’s Beach Award, thanks to the excellent management of the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust. The beach also received a ‘good’ water quality rating from SEPA – making it even more important for us to take pride in this outstanding beach. 
 
"With the new Leven railway opening our beach up to more visitors, it is fantastic to celebrate our brilliant beach here in Leven. It was brilliant to come together as a community to learn about the importance of protecting our environment and to help keep our local beach looking beautiful."

Barry Fisher CEO of Keep Scotland Beautiful commented after the event, “It was brilliant today to see the enthusiasm and interest shown by the children and young people who came to help with the litter pick, and important that they were able to speak to Ms Gilruth MSP about their experiences, fears for wildlife and desire for clean beaches to enjoy.

“Positively 82% of people in Scotland say they want to see more efforts to prevent litter and while we know we can’t litter pick our way out of the litter problem Scotland has, and that we must address our consumption and disposal behaviours, we are ever grateful to the thousands of people who do get involved in picking up litter and leaving the places they care about cleaner.”

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust collected and disposed of the litter collected during the clean-up event. Tom Quayle, Head of Conservation and Engagement said, “Leven Beach is a proud winner of one of Scotland’s Beach Awards – recognising excellent beach management, but even the best beaches are impacted by litter.  We work tirelessly all year to encourage people to use the countryside responsibly and take their litter home or use a bin.  In fact we now have 200 new bins located along our coast and in our countryside to encourage recycling.  But, with the support of valued volunteers and partners, we also ensure that any litter left behind by visitors is removed to protect nature and keep Fife’s Fringe of Gold as beautiful as it can be.  It was fun to be able to talk to local children, and one of our local MSPs, about our work to make it easier to recycle waste and how much we value volunteer litter picks at our sites.”

The litter pick took place during the Great British Beach Clean – a programme run by the UK wide Marine Conservation Society.  Data collected across the UK helps inform policy and make the case for action to address litter items found in great number.  A group of pupils carried out a survey that will be submitted to the UK database.

Parliamentary Affairs Officer for the Marine Conservation Society, Dan Hale, said: “Our annual Great British Beach Clean (GBBC) is a great opportunity for young people to learn about the importance of tackling marine litter, so it was fantastic that local pupils from Fife were able to join us for this GBBC event at Leven Beach.

“The data collected from these cleans, both during GBBC and throughout the year, is so important for monitoring marine litter across the UK. This data plays a key role in policymaking, and has helped to inform initiatives such as the carrier bag levy and the forthcoming ban on wet wipes containing plastic.

“We would like to thank the local pupils for their enthusiasm and commitment throughout today’s clean, as well as local MSP Jenny Gilruth, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, and Keep Scotland Beautiful for making this event happen”.

We work to tackle litter from source to sea as part of our Upstream Battle campaign which you can find out more about via the link.