Protect and enjoy our outdoors
On April 22, to celebrate Earth Day, Clean Coasts launched their Enjoy and Protect campaign, by releasing a new free resource guide and hosting two water sport and beach cleaning events.
Ireland’s outdoor spaces and waterways, including those in Tipperary, 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 and scenic areas around Ireland. The Enjoy and Protect campaign calls for people to enjoy these outdoor treasures in Tipperary and wider Ireland 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 and outdoors, but also to protect these natural treasures for future generations to enjoy too, by making more sustainable choices, taking part in clean-ups, 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].
Residents and visitors of landlocked counties can make a difference not only in their local area, but also for our coast, by tackling marine litter at its sources with a clean-up along waterways, by engaging in a #2MinuteStreetClean, or even from their home, by reducing waste and single-use plastic or tackling sewage related litter with our Think Before You Flush and Think Before You Pour campaigns.
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.
FURTHER DETAILS
To stay up to date, keep an eye on Clean Coasts social media channels, or www.cleancoasts.org.