The eco guide to healthy beaches

It's not about pristine sands - we need seaweed, coral and mangroves to sustain marine wildlife and protect the world's coasts

To the untrained eye, all beaches can look healthy - the sea gives them a restorative glow. The Beach Ecology Coalition is based in California, but its indicators for a healthy beach broadly hold for Skegness as much as California's Laguna. Don't be fooled by pristine beaches. A healthy one should be strewn with wrack: organic litter including seaweed that sustains beach hoppers and birds.

Healthy beaches should be strewn with organic litter