National Marine Week runs from 26^th July to 10^th August 2025.  (It’s longer than a week, because of the differing tidal conditions around the UK.)  There’s a LOT happening and you can find out all about what’s on by checking the Wildlife Trust’s website.  

The theme for 2025…

In 2025, the Wildlife Trusts will be showcasing the 'Secrets of our Seabeds'.  There are so many beautiful worlds under the water and this is a good chance to see something of them – and discover who or what lives in and under the sea!  Seabeds store a huge amount of carbon – and this is a chance to spread the word about them!

What’s on?

Events are appearing already on the Wildlife Trusts’ website  There are beach cleans, night time safaris, dolphin watches, marine wildlife surveys, dolphin watches, nurdle hunts, rockpool rambles and more!  Don’t worry if you can’t get to the sea – there’s lots of coverage on social media too!

Find your local Wildlife Trust

There are 46 Trusts around the UK from Alderney in the Channel Islands to Scotland, Cornwall to Norfolk, and North West Wales to Kent.  You don’t have to live in an area to be a member of a particular Wildlife Trust, by the way, nor do you need to live by the sea to support National Marine Week.  Find your local Wildlife Trust here and see what they are up to.  The main Wildlife Trust website also has ways you can help. 

Please get political and tell people and politicians that nature matters! 

We all need to shout loudly for nature!  Nature has no voice, so it’s up to all of us to speak up.   The Wildlife Trusts have information about what they think the Government's priorities should be and Polar Bears International (who have been researching sea ice and polar bears for decades) have help here on how to talk to family, friends and others about climate change, and how you can get political.

12 ways to get involved in National Marine Week

(You don't need to wait until then!)

In 2025, the Wildlife Trusts will be showcasing the 'Secrets of our Seabeds'.    There are so many beautiful worlds under the water so this is a wonderful opportunity to find out all about them.  

Even if you don’t live on the coast, you can connect to the sea by finding out more about the effect pollution is having on them and the wildlife there.  Reduce your plastic use and pick up litter too, so that less plastic and litter heads downstream to the sea - left on the ground, it could get picked up by a passing bird and dropped later into a river and then out to sea. 

Now, here's an action you can take to help sealife straight away!  Unfortunately, Bottom trawling is still allowed in many Marine Protected Areas and the Wildlife Trusts want it to stop, as it wrecks havoc on seabeds.  They are calling for it to be banned in seabed Marine Protected Areas.  And that's where you and I come in.   Please take action and give this ban your support - there's a petition you can sign just here. 

1. Understand what the problems are

Today, the Wildlife Trusts say that some of the problems our marine life face include a lack of planning, because fishing, oil rigs and wind farms harm seabed habitats and consequently the wildlife there.  As on land, it’s vital to make space for wildlife.  Clear rules for industries are important so that everyone knows where they stand.

Of course, there’s terrible pollution from things such as sewage, farming chemicals, plastic litter. Fishing nets have been abandoned – we’ve all seen pictures of sea life and other animals caught in netting, or with plastic caught around their necks, or their heads in bottles, as they frantically try to escape.

It’s important to protect areas which have a big potential to capture carbon and store carbon, and also to make sure there are no destructive and damaging activities in areas which are already protected. 

One of the big problems is the disconnect people have with nature now.  It’s important for humans to understand the impact their actions have on the planet and why change is a must.

2. Be a political animal…

Bottom trawling is still taking place in many Marine Protected Areas and the Wildlife Trusts want it to stop, as it wrecks havoc on seabeds.  So they are calling for it to be banned in seabed Marine Protected Areas.  And that's where you and I come in.   Please take action and give this ban your support - there's a petition you can sign just here.  I’ve signed – please join me and sign too!  Let’s give this campaign some support!

We all need to shout loudly for nature!  Nature has no voice, so it’s up to all of us to speak up.   The Wildlife Trusts have information about what they think the Government's priorities should be and Polar Bears International (who have been researching sea ice and polar bears for decades) have help here on how to talk about climate change, and how you can get political. (By the way, the 15th July is Arctic Sea Ice Day - find out about that here.)

3.Be a citizen scientist!

Record your shoreline sightings and help marine and wildlife charities build up a picture of our shorelines and seas.

• Find out about the Wildlife Trust’s Shoresearch, a national survey of the intertidal shore where sea meets land.  This is a great way to explore the coast and discover all about the wildlife there – and contribute to the understanding of this key habitat. 
• Find out about the Secrets of the Solent with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Secrets of the Solent | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust with its seagrass meadows, chalk reefs, and species such as seahorses, thresher sharks, and cuttlefish.
• The Shark Trust has a number of projects, such as the Basking Shark project, the Great Eggcase Hunt project, the Great Shark Snapshot (19^th to 27^th July 2025, anywhere in the world!) and the Angling Project.  
• The Marine Conservation Society has a number of projects, too such as Seasearch for divers, the Big Seaweed Search, and the Big Microplastic Survey. 
• Scottish Seabird Centre has kindly put a list together of citizen science projects. 
• Find out how citizen science is saving our seas from the University of Portsmouth.  
• The Sea Watch Foundation has a whale and dolphin watch for citizen scientists from 26^th July to 3^rd August.

You can download this and print it off, or why not take a photo on your phone to use when you're out and about?

4. Do a beach clean

The Marine Conservation Society has the Great British Beach Clean from 19^th to 28^th September 2025.   Why not get your employer involved in a Team Beach Clean as an away day?  There are lots of beach cleans year round - it's a great way to meet up with other people who want to make a positive difference and who are doing something to make an impact.

5. In October:  Get nurdle hunting!

Take part in the Great Global Nurdle Hunt in October.  Nurdles are small plastic pellets which are melted down to make nearly all plastic products and the problem is that thousands of tonnes of them spill straight into the environment worldwide. Visit the website to find out and how you can go hunting for nurdles! 

6  Support seagrass projects

In May 2025, seagrass made its appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show, thanks to Seawilding (who are based in Scotland).  Seagrass play a vital role in keeping oceans healthy and giving thousands of marine species a home, such as the seahorse, the manatee and the sea turtle.  Project Seagrass, based in Wales, have a mission:  A world in which seagrass meadows are thriving, abundant and well managed for people and planet. And there are a number of projects around the UK to help seagrass.   The Marine Conservation Society has more information about seagrass itself and why it matters.

Find out about the Seahorse Trust and its ecomoorings project and also Save our Seahorses, the Irish branch of the Seahorse Trust. 

7.  Be a sea champion!

Be a sea champion!

Read about the Wildlife Trusts’ Marine Strategy How can you get involved and be a part of this journey?  Find out what the Wildlife Trusts are doing to help marine life and read the Blue Carbon report

Get marine updates into your inbox and spread the word to ask people for help with appeals or surveys. 

8. Just watch marine life!

Go to the sea if it's close to you, or a river or canal;  observe and connect to the natural world there and use your senses to really take in the natural world.  If you are unable to leave home, take in videos from You Tube to explore the natural world with, from kayaking in Alderney, to meeting the dolphins of Wales.   Rockpool species, sharks, turtles, seals – just drink in the marine videos.  

Here's a question for you!  How do you say "I love you" in puffin?
Find out here!

The Wildlife Trusts’ website enable you to put the name of a species into a search box and you can learn all about it!  This is a great opportunity to find out all about habitats – marine habitats, seagrass, biogenic reefs, deep-water corals, mud, sand and graves, kept beds and forests and rocky reefs.  Float away to them here.

Dive in and find out more about National Marine Week

9.  Support campaigns to improve the health of our oceans

The Marine Conservation Society has a number of different campaigns, such as banning disposable vapes and wet wipes.  And they have campaigns to stop ocean threads and stop pollution.  But there are also campaigns against balloon releases – who knows where they will end up?    Find out about their campaigns here.  

Take a look at Surfers Against Sewage, too. Water quality, plastic pollution, ocean recovery and the ocean and climate emergency are all challenges they are tackling.  And find out about their Million Mile Clean – they want 100,000 people to take a 10 mile stretch and clean it up on the coast, canals, bridle paths,  towns and cities!   And whether you're in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, they are asking us all to email our political representatives and demand action to clean up our waterways and hold polluters to account.  Find out more here.

10. Use less plastic

The Wildlife Trusts have lots of help to enable you to use less plastic in all sorts of ways, from the bathroom, to the kitchen and being out and about,  and they also have info about those sneaky plastics you may not have thought of!  Find out more  

Don't forget that July is Plastic Free Month - a chance for you to reduce the amount of plastic in your life, so it's a good way to do something towards both National Marine Week and Plastic Free Month at the same time.

11. Remember our Rivers!

Take a look at the I’s Save Britain’s Rivers campaign, challenging ALL parties to commit to sign up to a blueprint that will save our rivers.  The article has a number of ways in which you can help our rivers.

The Canal and Rivers Trust also has ways in which you can help care for our canal and rivers network to make it easy to #VolunteerByWater  

12. Support wildlife and marine charities

You could become a member of a marine charity such as a Wildlife Trust – it’s a great way to find out about the campaigns they are running, the threats marine and wildlife and our seas face and ways the Trusts are tackling those threats.  You could also donate to a campaign or to a Trust.

You could also take a look at Seacology, whose mission is "to protect threatened island ecosystems all over the world. We do that by working directly with communities, helping them to preserve their cultures and improve their lives while saving precious island habitats."  Visit their website here.

Find out more about National Marine Week here.