Irish environmental programme Clean Coasts is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. In honour of this milestone, over 300 groups in Ireland, including 15 in County Clare have registered to carry out a clean-up during the week around World Ocean Day.
Clean-ups will be happening in groups of all sizes, from individuals, friends and families to community groups, tidy towns groups, schools, sports groups etc…and they are set to happen in different locations throughout the county, including Spanish Point, Shannon Estuary, River Inagh Estuary, Kilkee, Quilty, Sixmilebrigde, and more, as well as a clean-up open to the public at Ballyalla Lake, in Ennis.
Clean Coasts are thrilled to see so many groups and individuals stepping up across Ireland to help protect our ocean and celebrate Clean Coasts’ 20th birthday and want to take this opportunity to thank and celebrate the efforts of all individuals and groups who have been protecting the Irish marine environment, whether they have been involved with the programme since 2003 or this is their first time joining the initiative.
World Ocean Day is celebrated annually on June 8th to highlight the important role the ocean has for our life and the planet. For 2023, the focus of World Ocean Day will be on the 30×30 campaign meaning that for us to create a healthy ocean with abundant wildlife and to stabilize our climate, it’s crucial that 30% of our planet’s lands, waters, and ocean are protected by the year 2030.
Marine litter has become a global problem for humans and marine life alike. However, communities around Ireland have demonstrated their desire to be part of the solution by taking part in several beach cleaning calls to action. Making sure litter is collected and disposed of properly at the source is vital for a cleaner ocean and a greener world for all of us to enjoy.
People who haven’t registered their clean-up can still join an existing one. For more information, please visit Clean Coasts’ event page.
Beach Clean at Ballyalla Lake for World Ocean Day
Sun, Jun 11, 11:00
For more info and booking, please click here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/beach-clean-at-ballyalla-lake-for-world-ocean-day-with-clean-coasts-tickets-648015119667
In 2023, Clean Coasts is celebrating its 20th birthday. 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.
Since 2003, Clean Coasts has been working 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.
For the past 20 years, Clean Coasts has grown from strength to strength and now includes two main national clean-up drives, as well as other initiatives, including 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 2,000 registered Clean Coasts volunteering groups and 40,000 volunteers. 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.