Clare based Clean Coasts group Banner Gleo is focusing on cleaning up Liscannor Bay this September running two events that are open to members of the public interested in keeping Clare’s coastlines clean and healthy.
On the 21st and 22nd of September, Banner Gleo: the Liscannor Bay Association will be working with the public to help collect and identify marine litter on Lahinch Beach.
The first event, a marine litter surveying workshop, will take place on Saturday the 21st of September, meeting at the Celtic T-Shirt Shop on Lahinch Promenade at 2pm. There are limited spaces available so if you would like to learn about how marine litter impacts our coastal environment and how this is monitored and recorded, please reach out to us at bannergleo@gmail.com. You can also find us on Instagram (@bannergleo).
The second event on Sunday the 22nd of September is the annual end of summer Big Beach Clean in association with Clean Coasts and the West Coast Surf Club. If you would like to be involved, come to the Lahinch Lifeguard Station between 1 and 3pm where participants will be given equipment and directions. This family friendly event is a great opportunity to visit the beach and contribute to a world wide scientific project looking at marine litter across the globe.
Approximately 10 million tonnes of litter end up in the world’s oceans and seas each year. The term “marine litter” or “marine debris” covers a range of materials which have been deliberately discarded, or accidentally lost on shore or at sea, and it includes materials that are carried out to sea from land, rivers, drainage and sewerage systems, or the wind. Plastics make up 80% of all marine litter from surface waters to the deep seafloor. What we find on our beaches is not the full extent of the marine litter. It is estimated that 70% of litter is on the seabed, 15% is floating in the water column and 15% is what we find on our shores.
Patrick Cross, Banner Gleo Secretary had this to say: “we are delighted to be offering two back to back events during the month of September, both focusing on the pressing issue of marine litter and its environmental impacts. While this is an international issue, individuals and communities are at the centre of positive change and everyone is welcome to lend a hand. Numbers are limited for our surveying workshop but the Big Beach Clean can handle a big crowd so come join us on the 22nd and bring your friends. Feel free to email us or contact us through Instagram with any questions you might have and see you on the beach!
Banner Gleo
BannerGleo is a coastal community association working to support the natural capital and ecological integrity of Liscannor Bay by engaging with visitors and local stakeholders, delivering educational events and activities and completing scientific research and surveys. Learn more at: www.instagram.com/bannergleo/
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. Currently, there are over 2,000 registered Clean Coasts volunteering groups and 40,000 volunteers. 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. Learn more at: www.cleancoasts.org
The Big Beach Clean
The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy. The action invites communities and volunteers around the country to remove litter from around the Irish coast after the end of the bathing season. Last year, in an extraordinary display of environmental stewardship and community spirit, 7,700 Clean Coasts volunteers rolled up their sleeves and removed over 46 tonnes of litter (12 hippies worth!) from all across the country as part of the Big Beach Clean and Clean Coasts 20th year anniversary. Learn more at: www.cleancoasts.org/our-initiatives/big-beach-clean/
