Media Contact: Olivia Crossan
Email: ocrossan@eeu.antaisce.org
Phone: 087 2045259

 

Clean Coasts – Ocean Hero Awards 2015

Celebrating Ireland’s Coastal Custodians

 

Wednesday 23th September 2015 Clean Coasts have launched their annual Ocean Hero Awards with a call for nominations for Ireland’s coastal champions.

The Clean Coasts Ocean Hero Awards are an annual initiative run by An Taisce which recognises the invaluable contribution that individuals, community groups, businesses and schools make in protecting and conserving Ireland’s spectacular coastline. These prestigious awards form part of the Clean Coasts programme which encourages the public to care for, and celebrate Ireland’s coastal environment.

Dr. Michael John O Mahony, Director of An Taisce’s Environmental Education Unit said: “The Ocean Hero Awards recognise the remarkable work being carried out by Clean Coasts groups and volunteers all along the Irish coast. This is achieved through several award categories which celebrate creative initiatives in coastal conservation and the wide variety of newly established and long-term groups who contribute to the programme.  Over the past number of years Clean Coasts has grown in such a way that the programme is now embedded in the vast majority of coastal communities in Ireland,  as a result we feel it is necessary to acknowledge this dedication and the positive impact these communities have on the coastline.”

If you would like to recognise an individual, Clean Coasts group, school or business that is making a valuable contribution to protecting our coast, you can nominate them at www.cleancoasts.org. The nomination process only takes a few minutes and we would love to hear your voice. Nominations must be received by Friday October 23rd for inclusion in the selection process.

Nominations are invited in the following categories:

  1. Ocean Hero Award – Group of the Year supported by Coca Cola
  2. Ocean Hero Award – Individual of the Year
  3. Ocean Hero Award – Newcomer of the Year
  4. Ocean Hero Award – School of the Year
  5. Ocean Hero Award – Business of the Year
  6. Ocean Hero Award – Event of the Year

Clean Coasts is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce and is funded by the Department of the Environment, Community, and Local Government, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Fáilte Ireland.

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About Clean Coasts

Clean Coasts engages communities in the protection of Ireland’s beaches, seas and marine life. The programme is operated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce and is currently funded by the Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government, Coca-Cola and Fáilte Ireland.

Clean Coasts is made up of two elements; Clean Coasts volunteering and the Green Coast Award. The Green Coast Award is an award for beaches that meet the excellent standard for water quality as set out in the revised Bathing Water Directive (EC 2006/7/EC) but may not have the necessary built infrastructure to achieve Blue Flag status. An important element of this award is that these beaches have a beach management plan in place and that the local community are engaged in this process.

The Clean Coasts volunteering effort engages communities in the protection and conservation of their local coastal environment. There are currently 403 registered Clean Coasts groups. 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. http://www.cleancoasts.org/

 

Think Before You Flush

‘Think Before You Flush’ is a public awareness campaign about the problem sanitary products and other items can cause in our marine environment and our wastewater systems if they are flushed down the toilet. The campaign is operated by An Taisce’s Clean Coasts programme and is supported by Irish Water. The Think Before You Flush campaign invites you to join us in making small changes in your bathroom behaviour like never using the toilet to dispose of sanitary products. http://thinkbeforeyouflush.org/