Interview by Rachel Wood

I love being on the beach: the space, the fresh air and tranquillity. Even on a busy beach, being by the water gives me an immense amount of happiness; it’s the best feeling in the world.

My local beach, Rottingdean in East Sussex, is my favourite. I’m an all-year round sea swimmer as well as beach cleaner. Knowing there are pods of dolphins, seals, seahorses, rays, dogfish and cuttlefish, and a chalk reef is fantastic. At low tide, you can explore the rockpools – it’s not just for children, I do it too. It’s so beautiful to see the baby fish and shrimps.

I have been running a beach cleaning volunteer group for over 10 years called The Deans Volunteers, which started as a group for mums and young children. I wanted to learn more so I applied to be a Sea Champion with the Marine Conservation Society, and I now run beach cleans every month. I’ve run them across the south coast, and clean Ovingdean, Rottingdean and Saltdean beaches with my group. We also raise awareness by doing a ‘teach on the beach’ session where we have a table showing cuttlefish, petrified cuttlefish eggs, whelk shells and mermaid’s purses.

We can collect about 350kg of rubbish – including a lot of plastics, but some less expected items too, such as buoys from Devon (which we returned) and false teeth. In the summer, we suddenly find a lot more underwear – it’s known in the group as ‘underwear season’!

For me though, the beach cleans are about more than just what we collect – they’re about connection and feeling good. You get to spend time with like-minded souls, and in today’s social media-centric society, it’s so important to have these communities that love doing something for the planet, and for themselves.

The feel-good factor of completing a beach clean is immense. Keeping fit, breathing fresh air, meeting amazing people - it’s an all-round great activity. I think there’s nothing better to do on a weekend. 

And it all really wouldn’t be as fun without my team of beach buddies: Rona, Simon, Russ, Lee, Klara and Michael. Every month they’re there with me, using hours of their free time, so I just want to say a huge thank you for everything they do. We always have a lovely time at the events. 

For me, beach cleans are part of a sustainable lifestyle. It’s about the love of nature, love of the environment and living a good life for yourself and for others.

Libby Darling and The Deans Volunteers will be organising a big beach clean during the Great British Beach Clean this September.