A group of volunteers from the Burren Ecotourism network, along with locals and holiday makers joined a big beach clean-up on Fanore beach last weekend.
For most of the summer, the popular beach resort had remained clean and tidy thanks to the presence of litter wardens, provided by Clare County Council.
Pete Hynes of Aloha Surf School and member of the Burren Ecotourism group said: “The Litter Wardens that were here during the summer did a great job and had been keeping the beach very clean, however two weeks after they have finished there was a substantial amount of refuse collected by Saturday’s group.”
“It just shows that there is still a lack of awareness among a proportion of the public around responsible disposal of plastics, bottles, cans and general litter.”
Mr Hynes said he was he was delighted with the turnout of people, and their willingness to do something positive in keeping Fanore Beach in pristine condition.
The clean-up was organized by Joan Hamilton of Doolin 2 Aran Ferries a member of the Burren Ecotourism Network and Pat Murphy, a regular visitor to the area. The Network provided bags, pickers and gloves to volunteers and local man Thomas O’Connor ensured all the refuse was then taken away by Clare County Council.
Thelma Hayes, Operations Manager at the Cliffs of Moher, and chairperson of the Conservation Advocacy Group within the Network said: “We have noticed that any time there is a clean up planned, the volunteers really show up in good numbers which is very encouraging. Even though many visitors to the area are very careful with their litter, there are still people who leave plastics and other non-biodegradable material in the environments and habitats that needs to be picked up and taken away.”
“Volunteers see the need to do this as they know that the reason why the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark is so popular and clean and we want to keep it that way“
After the clean-up volunteers enjoyed tea and coffee at Skylarks Coffee Dock which is run by Pete Hynes and Mick O’Toole.
The Burren Ecotourism Network is planning a number of regular clean ups throughout the Autumn and winter. For further information on future beach cleans, please check https://www.facebook.com/VisittheBurren