Ireland’s outdoor is amazing: let’s Enjoy and Protect it! 

Irish environmental charity Clean Coasts launches a campaign providing people in Ireland with easy ideas and free resources to explore the Irish coast and spend time outdoors sustainably.  

20th April 2022 | On 22nd April, to celebrate Earth Day, Clean Coasts are launching their Enjoy and Protect campaign, by releasing a new free resource guide and hosting two water sport and beach cleaning events. 

The Irish Coast presents its visitors with amazing landscapes and numerous opportunities to have fun, from water sports, to camping, to outdoor eating and more. According to the CSO “Our Lives Outdoors’ survey”, carried out in spring 2022 prior to the creation of Ireland National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027, 98% of Irish adults like to spend time outdoors, and 55% people spend more time outdoors than before COVID, with recreational walking being #1 activity practiced in country. Moreover, with the nice weather on the way, more people are expected to be visiting the beautiful coastal areas around the country. The Enjoy and Protect campaign calls people to enjoy these outdoor treasures sustainably.  

For over 20 years, Clean Coasts has been working with communities and volunteers toto help protect and care for Ireland’s waterways, coastline, seas, ocean and marine life, by organising hundreds of beach clean-ups each year, mobilising thousands of volunteers, and removing large quantities of marine litter from our coastline. Currently, we can count on the work of over 2,000 groups and 40,000 volunteers. 

The Enjoy and Protect Guides and Resources  

With their Enjoy and Protect campaign, Clean Coasts invite people to enjoy and celebrate Ireland’s stunning coastline, but also to protect these natural treasures for future generations to enjoy too, by making more sustainable choices, taking part in beach cleans, or learn more about our micro-volunteering campaigns, such as the #2MinuteBeachClean – carried out in partnership with the 2 Minute Foundation – or the Think Before You Flush and Think Before You Pour campaigns – two Uisce Éireann’s campaigns operated by Clean Coasts [see editor’s notes].  

As part of the campaign, Clean Coasts has released five free guides containing tips and guidance on how to enjoy our coast, while doing your bit to protect it. The Outdoor Living and A Day at the Beach guides focus on activities such as camping, eating outdoors and spending a day discovering marine biodiversity. A third guide, our Community Guide, is available exclusively to registered Clean Coasts groups and will include guidance on organising beach cleans, building a network, attracting new volunteers and promoting your work. Another guide, Wildlife Photography, was released in 2022, and it is a resource to support photographers wishing to enter Clean Coasts’ Love Your Coast Photography competition, as well as the general public. 

Finally, in 2023, Clean Coasts launched a new Water Sports Guide, that will be available to download on the organisation website on Earth Day. 

In addition to these guides, throughout the summer, Clean Coasts will share tips to make more sustainable choices, and will offer the online community a space to exchange ideas through social media. 

The Enjoy and Protect Events 

To celebrate the launch of the campaign, Clean Coasts in conjunction with Big Style SUP are hosting  a Stand Up Paddle Boarding clean up around Dún Laoghaire Harbour, Co. Dublin, on April 22nd. More details can be found here. 

Moreover, on April 22nd, Clean Coasts are teaming up with Atlantic Scuba Adventures for a beach clean at Tra An Doilin, An Cheathru Rua, Co. Galway, followed by a free SSI Snorkel Diver course straight after the clean-up for the first 20 people who register, as a thank you for protecting our ocean. Atlantic Scuba Adventures will also provide all other cleaners with a 50% discount code to complete their snorkel course at a later day if they wish. More details can be found here. 

More events will be organised during the summer throughout the Irish coast. To stay up to date, keep an eye on Clean Coasts social media channels, or www.cleancoasts.org.