Before you start collecting sand it’s important to give some thought to a number of important issues. These are factors you need to decide before you start. Failing to do so may cause heartache and potentially some additional financial outlay at a later date.
One of the first considerations you need to make is within what geographical region are you going to collect sand, i.e. locally such as your home country or globally? Personally, I only collect sand from the British Isles, more the South of Scotland. If you decide to collect sand from further away you will need to ask yourself how you are going to achieve that. Will you go there yourself or trade sand with other collectors?
You will also need to decide what you are actually going to collect. Sand is technically classed as a loose material with individual grains between 0.0625 mm and 2.00 mm in size. Ask yourself if you will also collect smaller materials such as silt or clay, larger materials such as fine gravel or a mixture of the two.
The quantity of sand you need to gather in the field is another factor to consider. This will depend on the size of the containers you choose to house and finally display your samples. If planning to exchange sand you will need to gather additional quantities.
Large sand collections can take up a lot of space and you’ll need to give some thought to how much space you have available. This will be affected by your choice of display and storage containers. Large containers obviously take up more space than smaller ones. They also weight more as well. Space will also be needed for drying and washing your samples. You will, at an early stage, need to decide on the type and size of storage container you want to house your collection. How much these will cost, their availability and space requirements should also be considered.
You may also want to consider the type of locations you want to collect sand from. Some collectors only collect samples from beaches, while other like myself, will collect from just about anywhere. Of course, you can always change your mind later. Some collectors collect their samples based on a theme, for example, they may try to get samples of sand from all the different states in the USA or from all the beaches in their own county or region.
The great thing about sand collecting is that there are no fixed rules, you can collect what you want, where you want, when you want and how much you want. What you do with it is up to you. There are no official clubs or societies that will insist you follow any particular method. It’s all up to the individual.
Copyright ©2020 Gary Buckham. All rights reserved.
