More than 230 clean-ups set to take place this World Ocean Day

Thousands of volunteers answered the call to protect our ocean

Life

Image: Ron Lach via Pexels

Last May, Irish environmental charity Clean Coasts joined forces with National Spring Clean, to provide communities around Ireland with free clean-up kits to host a clean-up during the week around World Ocean Day. 

Thousands of volunteers have answered Clean Coasts and National Spring Clean joint call-to-action to organise a clean-up to protect our ocean this June

World Ocean Day, which is celebrated annually on 8 June, highlights the important role the ocean has for our life and the planet.

In 2022, the focus will once more be on the 30×30 campaign: to create a healthy ocean with abundant wildlife and to stabilize the climate, it is critical that 30% of our planet’s lands, waters, and ocean are protected by 2030.  

One of the issues affecting our ocean is marine litter which has become a global problem for both humans and marine life. However, communities around Ireland have demonstrated their desire to be part of the solution by taking part in several beach cleaning and clean-up calls to action. 

Statistics show that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and cities. Building on the success of the Spring Clean 22 campaign, which took place in the month of April and saw 500,000 volunteers organising over 5,600 clean-ups, the National Spring Clean programme is joining Clean Coasts this year in supporting these communities around Ireland. 

Volunteers who did not manage to secure a clean-up kit can still take action by joining an existing clean-up, a list of which can be found on the Clean Coasts website.

Clean Coasts has also issued a fourth Enjoy and Protect guide about wildlife photography, specifically designed not just for amateur photographers wishing to enter the Love Your Coast Photography competition, but also for the general public who wish to capture the beauty of our coastline while doing something to protect it.

Sinead McCoy, coastal communities manager said: “We were so overwhelmed with the support received from the public. In under 72 hours over 230 clean-ups had already registered on the Clean Coasts website. Now over 4,000 volunteers are set to take action for World Ocean Day by organising or joining a clean-up event around Ireland.” 

TechCentral Reporters

Read More: Clean Coasts environment National Spring Clean World Ocean Day