June has been an exciting month for the Clean Coasts team and our amazing volunteers: we celebrated World Oceans Day and #2minutebeachclean Day; clean-ups could finally resumes; we released two video projects; we are getting ready for Plastic Free July and, of course, we read about the hard work volunteers have been carrying out to protect our coast after restrictions were lifted.
Keep reading to see if you missed anything this month and to see what will happen with Clean Coasts over the next few weeks.
We are back on the beach, but safety first…
On June 8th we announced that beach cleans and litter picking activities can resume around Ireland. While this is amazing news, please remember that we are still under Covid-19 times and the safety of our volunteers is the most important thing.
If you are beach cleaning, keep in mind these rules:
Keep a 2m distance from other people that do not live with you
Do not collect any discarded PPE items or tissues
Sanitise your hands before and after the beach clean and avoid touching your face
Do not share your clean-up kit and wash it before and after you use it
Can you bring the litter you collected at home to dispose of it correctly, as local authorities are under great pressure at the moment?
Listen to instructions by your group leader. They will also provide you with Clean Coasts bags to use.
Keep a list of attendees – to aid contact tracing if needed
And remember, if you don’t feel like it’s safe for you to be out doing a beach clean, please don’t do it – take care of yourself and wait until you feel comfortable being out again. Our beautiful coast will still be there for you!
Making Waves – Watch the series
As part of the celebrations for World Oceans Day, we announced we announced that Clean Coasts would release a series from our panel discussion “Making Waves” with Colm O’Regan and five speakers from different background.
This week, we will release the first episode of this series – a chat with Aoife Deane from MaREI. Keep an eye on our social media to find out more.
Getting ready for Plastic Free
Given the current situation, celebrating Plastic Free July is not a top priority for some people at the moment and trying to live plastic free has certainly become (a lot) more challenging, given the Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines to follow.
With July at the doorstep, there are some things we can do to be prepared. Are you thinking about putting yourself to the test this July? Here are some tips that might help you.
For the past 11 years, through our Love Your Coasts competition, we have been celebrating the beauty and uniqueness of the Irish coastline.
Clean Coasts Love Your Coast Competition will Open in July. With a prize fund of €5,000 up for grabs, we are looking for entries across the following 5 Categories:
What’s the weirdest thing you have ever found on a beach clean? Have you ever found something but had no idea what it was?
On Wednesday, 3rd June 2020, we talked to Rosemary Hill, Sean Ferguson & Ms Joan Conaghy, beachcombers from the east and west of Ireland about what is washing up our on shores. Keep an eye on our social media for clips from this virtual chat.
Would you like to share your volunteering experience during the Covid-19 crisis?
As the Covid-19 crisis continues with no real end in sight, it can be hard to find positive aspects to our new way of life. But through the community and voluntary sector in Ireland, a movement in response to this crisis has emerged, that should generate an unparalleled sense of national pride.
The sense of communal solidarity that has been witnessed across communities, both in organized community response groups and individual acts of kindness to our neighbours, is a legacy that should never be forgotten, neither by the people whose lives have been touched, nor by the leaders of our county who have the power to change the face of the community sector in this country.
The Institute of Technology Sligo supported by Sligo Public Participation Network is undertaking a research project to evaluate the societal and economic impact of community and voluntary groups during the Covid-19 crisis. The overarching goal of the project is to highlight the contribution of the community sector through this crisis and to explore potential scenarios that may have occurred should the community sector have not stepped up to answer Ireland’s call.
The first phase of the project aims to gain an insight into the experiences of volunteers during the Covid-19 crisis. The “Impact of the Contribution of Community in the Response to Covid-19” survey consists of 24 questions and will require 10-15 minutes to complete.
On June 8th we celebrated World Oceans Day. As part of the celebrations, we also hosted a screening of Ken’O Sullivan “Deep Atlantic”, which was followed by an interesting chat with Ken. Finally, we announced the release of our panel discussion series “Waves Making” with Colm O’Regan and five speakers from different backgrounds.
If you missed our message to volunteers, you can read it at the link below.
Are you thinking of planting a tree near the coast?
There is a certain image we are all familiar with. It’s a lone tree swept over at a ninety-degree angle somewhere on Irelands coastline, so although relatively rare we know trees can grow near the coast. Whether newly planted trees grow or not will depend on two things. How exposed the location is and what type of tree is selected.
The main threats to trees on the coast are salty spray dehydrating buds and wind burning new shoots. It goes without saying that these threats are at their most acute on the west coast lessening significantly on the south coasts and even more so on the east coast.
What benefits does Clean Coasts Bring to your community?
We asked volunteers around Ireland what benefits Clean Coasts brings to their community. Watch the video above to find out what they told us.
Happy stories from June
Another great clean-up story by Clean Coasts Ballynamona, who removed a lot of broken glass, 3 tents, frames of burnt chairs, sleeping bag. ad more on their local beach during their weekend clean up.
Wexford Sub Aqua Club were able to clean a lump of rope/net from the seabed last Saturday. Environmental Officer Emma Byrne used scissors to remove the rope, that was brought back to the surface and disposed of in my household bin.
Tramore Eco Group was back out earlier this week helping our beautiful coast along Tramore looking its best. “As you can see from some of the pictures there are a large amount of bins throughout Tramore, please use them!”
Great job by Loughros Point Rowing Club during their socially distanced clean-up last weekend.
But this clean-up is only of the project this awesome group has been involved in: the old pier in Ardara was run down and litters, and never used. Over the past year, the community came together to clean-it up and bring it back to life.
Well done!
Youghal Clean Coasts Group held their first beach clean in 4 month, after restrictions had been lifted. They made sure they kept social distance and followed all guidelines to keep everyone in the community safe. Great job!
Last week, swimmers from Clonea Beach held an amazing beach clean after their morning swim. Isn’t this great?
Excellent job by Blackrock Tidy Towns who held a cleanup of the coastal walk from the Fane Estuary to Seabank, in conjunction with An Taisce National Spring Clean Thank you!
