'Beach clean has been eye-opening' - dolphin volunteer

A Sussex man says his latest conservation fundraiser has been "eye-opening" as he prepares to walk, cycle and paddleboard thousands of kilometres while cleaning litter off the south coast's beaches.

Ben Boxer, 26, has been walking and paddle-boarding over 1,500km (932 miles), including hiking home from work in London, to raise funds for the Marine Conservation Society.

The corporate sustainability consultant, from Brighton, is now continuing his mission with a 750kg beach cleaning target, having been inspired by his travels to Canada.

Mr Boxer said: "Starting to weigh what I have been picking up has been eye-opening. I have been picking up a lot of plastic fishing lines.

"The UK could be a lot like Canada if we restored some of the wildlife. I hope to see some of that when I go out in the summer."

Mr Boxer, who last year cycled over 7,500km (4,660 miles) in aid of the Sussex Dolphin Project for whom he volunteers, was inspired to take on the challenge through his long-distance relationship with his then-partner, who lived in Vancouver.

His initial cycle challenge was designed to be the length of the flight from London to Vancouver – about 7,500km – and his latest set of events are also inspired by that distance.

Mr Boxer says he is completing the challenges in increments and is roughly two- thirds of the way through the fundraiser, Movement for Nature, which he started in January.

He said that this included walking back from his job in Paddington in London to Brighton via the Surrey Hills, High Weald and Lewes over the space of a weekend.

He added that he plans to travel to Canada again later this year, where he plans to complete a mountain bike climb through the British Columbian mountains.

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