The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the UK charity for our seas, shores and wildlife, is pleased to report that British Naturism (BN), the UK’s internationally recognised organisation for naturism, has chosen MCS as its President’s Charity of the Year. BN will be raising awareness and funds for MCS’s vital work with a series of public events, kicking off with a sponsored walk of some favourite stretches of coastline from this weekend (May 5th and 7th).

“We are delighted that British Naturism has chosen MCS as their president’s charity”, says Richard Harrington, MCS Communications Manager. “The support of British Naturism and their members and involvement in our Coastal Challenge, which aims to cover the entire distance around the beautiful UK coastline of 18,470km (11,477 miles), will help fund our vital work to protect our seas for future generations”.

“We feel that there is a good fit between our activities and the goals of MCS, and want to encourage members, clubs and others to get involved,” says BN President, Pat Thompson “We’ve been encouraging all of our members to take a sponsored walk of their favourite stretch of coastline, as a start to a great relationship with MCS.”

British Naturism are also keen to get involved with many other MCS projects, including anti-litter campaigns such as “Beachwatch” (the annual MCS beachclean and survey) and “No Butts on the Beach” (an anti smoking litter campaign). As well as the first sponsored walk this May Bank Holiday, further sponsored walks are also taking place along the South Coast on 2nd June.

Anyone can help MCS make a positive change for our seas by joining their ambitious fundraising initiative “Coastal Challenge”. Any kind of sponsored event, fully clothed or otherwise, that covers distance qualifies as a Coastal Challenge event, so whether you want to run a marathon or cycle to work every Wednesday until World Oceans Day (June 8th 2007) you can make those miles really count. For more information about the Coastal Challenge please visit www.mcsuk.org.

Call or email today and request your free fundraising pack from MCS on 01989 561587 (or katherine.stephenson@mcsuk.org). Every supporter who raises £100 gets a fantastic free ‘MCS Champion’ t-shirt – visit our website www.mcsuk.org for more information and updates.

Editor’s Notes:

1. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK Charity caring for our seas, shores and wildlife. MCS campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries, protection of marine life and their habitats, and the sensitive use of our marine resources for future generations. www.mcsuk.org Registered Charity Number 1004005
2. 2007 is a critical year for marine conservation in the UK as the Government will this year be debating our first Marine Bill, in what could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to protect our nationally important marine sites and species, and better manage the many industries that impact on and compete for use of the marine environment. See www.mcsuk.org for more information.
3. British Naturism is the UK’s officially recognised naturist organisation. It exists to support and unite naturists around the UK and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2004, although previous incarnations have been in existence since the 1930s.
4. Amongst the aims of BN are to campaign for more naturist places to be made available and to protect naturists against discrimination. Naturism is practiced by more people in more places than you’d think - in the UK, there are over 150 sun clubs, swim clubs and holiday resorts and 12 officially designated naturist beaches, with many more being used regularly by naturists. Membership of BN is around 15,000 people.