• Irish environmental charity Clean Coasts are talking about all the reasons why people across Cork should sign up to join the World Biggest Clean-Up 

The Big Beach Clean initiative is back, and Clean Coasts, supported by Cully and Sully, are calling people all across Cork to register to receive clean-up kits and join the world biggest clean-up. 

In 2021, a record number of over 400 clean-ups were organised by volunteers who removed 42 tonnes of litter across the whole country. This represented a 5% decrease in litter found across Ireland, compared to the previous year campaign, which reflects the incredible work that Irish volunteers do all year round to tackle litter, as well as more conscious behaviours by beach users. 

Last year in county Cork, volunteers organised clean-ups in 80 different locations, removing almost 7 tonnes of litter over the weekend. Moreover, Clean Coasts hosted a Big Beach Clean event at Garryvoe Beach that Saturday on the 18th of September 2021, where 20 volunteers removed an additional 30kg of marine litter. 

The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action and this year it will run from 16th to 18th September, as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy.  This call-to-action invites communities and volunteers around the country to remove litter from around the Irish coast after the end of the bathing season. This initiative is also an opportunity for volunteers to get involved in a worldwide citizen science project, which entails collecting the amount and types of litter on Irish beaches and filling in Clean Coasts’ Marine Litter Data Cards. This will help heighten awareness about the issue of marine litter serving as an indicator of the magnitude of the problem and help shape future policies and campaigns.  

The 2021 results have been shared with Ocean Conservancy and, in Ireland and regionally in Cork, they have been used to shape Clean Coasts campaigns designed both for registered groups and the general public, tackling the top 10 offenders, such as cigarette butts, plastic bottles and food packaging. 

This year, Clean Coasts are calling not only Clean Coasts groups and people who would traditionally be involved in environmental activities to join. Clean Coasts, with the support of Content Creators, are asking everybody in the community to get involved and find out more about the benefits of taking part in a beach clean and international citizen science project, which go beyond the environmental aspect of the initiative. 

Deric Hartigan (TV presenter), James Kavanagh  (presenter and owner of food business Currabinny), Aoife McNamara (fashion designer) and Niamh Maher (travel expert and blogger from Exploring Ireland) are joining us this year to make a difference for our ocean and are hoping to inspire more people to sign up for the Big Beach Clean. 

Our ocean supports livelihood and certain businesses, from hospitality to tourism, to fishing, and more depend on a clean and healthy ocean. People engaged in water sports, whether in a professional way or as a hobby, would join this call to action to protect their “playground”. Some artists might draw inspiration from the ocean, and, for this reason, they want to do something to protect it. Coastal communities take pride in the beauty of the place they live in and want to keep it clean; moreover, a cleaner place to live means having better health and wellbeing. The ocean does a lot for our mental health and wellbeing, and so some participants might want to give something back to it. Finally, in the overall climate emergency, some people want to be an active part of the solution, and by taking part in this citizen science project, they will be able to play a key role in the establishment of future policies and campaigns.  

Registration will again be open to all residents of Ireland, no matter how far from the coast they are based. Statistics show that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and cities. Getting involved in the Big Beach Clean is a way for residents of non-coastal counties to help prevent litter entering our waterways and seas by holding a clean-up no matter where they are in the country and tackling the problem at source. 

As sea lovers and sustainability supporters, Cully and Sully are joining Clean Coasts again and are very excited to be supporting the Big Beach Clean.

Cullen Allen (Cully) said:

We are delighted to be back supporting the Big Beach Clean for 2022. This event has been growing every year and is certainly one of the most important events in the Cully & Sully diary. We are big beach & water fans in Cully & Sully and we fully realize the importance of keeping our beaches and waterways clean and useable for everyone to enjoy. We will be encouraging all of our customers and friends to sign up for Big Beach Clean 2022. Let’s make it the biggest Big Beach Clean yet.. get signing up now!

Sinead McCoy, Coastal Communities Manager, stated: 

The work carried out by Clean Coasts groups across Ireland throughout the year is amazing, and unfortunately very much needed during these times. We are asking Clean Coasts groups and any other group that would like to join the effort to sign up to partake in the Big Beach Clean, which runs on the 3rd weekend in September each year, and receive a free beach clean kit.  Last year we had a boost in clean ups with loads more areas on the coast, along lakes and riverways and in our town and villages being cleaned up, we are excited to build on this success and get even more volunteers out cleaning during weekend. This year you can find your local beach clean or sign up on cleancoasts.org.

To register visit the Clean Coasts website at www.cleancoasts.org 

WEBSITE: www.cleancoasts.org

SOCIAL MEDIA     

Facebook: @CleanCoasts

Twitter: @CleanCoasts 

Instagram: @cleancoasts

YouTube: Clean Coasts Ireland

Linkedin: Clean Coasts     

Hashtags: #BigBeachClean2022 #CleanCoasts 

Creators who supported the Big Beach Clean & links to their post

Aoife McNamara – @aoifemcnamaraxReel

Niamh Reid (Maher) – @exploringirelandPost

James Kavanagh – @jamesalankavanaghPost  

Deric Hartigan – @deric_tvReel

WEBSITE: https://cleancoasts.org/our-initiatives/big-beach-clean/ 

About Clean Coasts: 

Clean Coasts is a charity programme, run through the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce, which engages communities in the protection of Ireland’s beaches, seas and marine life. Clean Coasts works with communities to help protect and care for Ireland’s waterways, coastline, seas, ocean and marine life. Clean Coasts thrives to create tangible and immediate improvements to Ireland’s coastal environment, involving thousands of volunteers removing large quantities of marine litter from our coastline each year. 

Clean Coasts has grown over the years and now includes two main national clean-up drives. Other initiatives include the Green Coast Award, the Love Your Coast Photography competition, the Clean Coasts Roadshows for coastal communities and the Ocean Hero Awards. All these initiatives are aimed at celebrating the beauty of our coast and the efforts of our volunteers across all of Ireland.  

Currently, there are over 1800 registered Clean Coasts volunteering groups. There are a variety of group types such as community groups, residents’ associations, tidy towns groups, sports clubs, schools, businesses, universities etc. Clean Coasts organises hundreds of beach clean-ups annually mobilising thousands of volunteers, removing considerable quantities of marine litter from Ireland’s beaches and waterways.  Our volunteering has expanded to also include Corporate Volunteering. 

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Other Clean Coasts events and initiatives this summer:  

Enjoy and Protect (guides)  

With the ‘Enjoy and Protect’ campaign, Clean Coasts are asking people to enjoy and celebrate our stunning coastline, beautiful beaches, epic cliffs and all outdoor areas, but also to protect these natural treasures. Get out and make the most of Ireland’s wonderful coast, but also do your part to preserve our marine environment and keep it safe and beautiful for future generations to enjoy too, with simple actions and small lifestyle changes. More info here.  

Love Your Coast  

The 13th Clean Coasts’ Love Your Coast photography competition is now open for entries. Amateur photographers were invited to capture the uniqueness of our coastal communities, environments, or waterways and enter their best shots over the past couple of months.  

There is a prize fund of €5,000, up for grabs across five categories: Coastal Heritage, Coastal Landscape, People & the Coast, Wildlife & the Coast and Creativity and the Coast. More info here.  

Marine Biodiversity Directories  

To celebrate National Biodiversity Week in May, Clean Coasts released two marine biodiversity directories.  

The Marine Zones and Habitats directory explores these zones and habitats a little further, from above the high tide line, right out to the edge of the continental shelf.  

Ireland’s coastline and marine environment is teeming with life, playing host to 24 species of whales and dolphins, 35 species of sharks, 2 species of seal, 24 species of seabirds, over 250 species of marine plants and hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates. The Marine Species directory talks about some of these species, where they can be found and more. More info here.  

Dublin Community Clean-Up

Clean Coasts is proud to announce that they will be involved once again in the Dublin Community Clean-Up 2022 which will take place from the 10th to the 18th of September and is supported by the four local authorities.

This year, Dublin Community Clean-up are hoping to build on the great achievement of 2021 by asking again all volunteers around Dublin to join forces and organise clean-ups around the cities, to make this the biggest clean-up event ever!

You can start your very own clean-up in your community, or take a look at the map on the Dublin Community Clean-up website and join an existing one by clicking the link here


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