Media Contact: Annabel FitzGerald
Email: afitzgerald@eeu.antaisce.org
Phone: 087 6169727

Clean Coasts – Ocean Heroes Awards

 Celebrating Ireland’s Coastal Champions

 

Wednesday 24th September 2014 Clean Coasts have launched their annual Ocean Heroes Awards with a call for nominations for Ireland’s coastal champions.

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

Annabel FitzGerald, Coastal Programmes Manager, An Taisce: “The Ocean Heroes awards are a celebration of the invaluable contribution that local communities make to the protection and conservation of our coast. All 400 Clean Coasts groups working around our coastline should be incredibly proud of the positive impact they have made in protecting our beaches, seas and marine life. These prestigious awards are about recognising these Ocean Heroes and celebrating their dedication to the Irish coast.”

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 October 10th for inclusion in the selection process.

Nominations are invited in the following categories:

  • Ocean Hero Award – Group of the Year
  • Ocean Hero Award – Individual of the Year
  • Ocean Hero Award – Newcomer of the Year
  • Ocean Hero Award – School of the Year
  • Ocean Hero Award – Business of the Year
  • 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.