Local groups honoured in Clean Coast’s Ocean Hero Awards

Bettystown Tidy Towns and Gormanston Community Association have both been shortlisted in An Taisice’s Clean Coast’s Ocean Hero Awards 2021 while, in Louth, the Group of the Year Award 2021 was won by the Cooley Community Alert group.

Gormanston Community Association was shortlisted in the Big Beach Clean Award category whilst Bettystown Tidy Towns was shortlisted in both the Big Beach Clean Award category and the Beach Clean Bubble Award categories.

The Big Beach Clean Award celebrates groups who got involved in Clean Coast’s annual Big Beach Clean weekend that promotes clean-up events across Ireland to mark the end of the bathing season.

The Beach clean bubble award acknowledges new and established Clean Coasts groups made up of close family and friends who banded together during lock-down to look after their local waterway or coastline.

Both shortlisted Meath nominees were sent a congratulatory gift package to thank them for their contribution to coasts across Ireland despite the various challenges that 2021 brought.

Meanwhile, in Louth the Group of the Year Award Winner 2021 has been won by the Cooley Community Alert Peninsula Marine, Dundalk.

Each year, the Ocean Hero Awards honour the invaluable contribution Clean Coasts volunteers, groups and communities have made towards conserving our spectacular coastline.

The awards, originally called the ‘Clean Coasts Merit Awards’, were conceived in 2006. Being Ireland’s foremost community-based coastal education programme, the Clean Coasts programme can count on the work of over 1,800 volunteer groups and over 37,000 volunteers.

*The beach cleaners of the Gormanston Community Association who were shortlisted in the Big Beach Clean Award category.*

It has been an unusual year, and, like everyone, Clean Coasts and their volunteers have had to adapt. The continued support, engagement, and interest from the many Clean Coasts volunteers around the country has been outstanding, showing dedication and resilience through these testing times.

Sinead McCoy, Clean Coasts Manager said: “I would like to congratulate all of the Ocean Hero Awardee, our shortlist and winners are incredibly inspiring volunteers, groups and communities that have made an outstanding contribution to protecting Ireland’s coastal environment.

The Clean Coasts programme’s Ocean Hero Awards have been celebrating the incredible efforts of volunteers around the Irish Coastline since 2006. Although 2021 has been challenging at times it has been an incredible year for Clean Coasts and our network has grown so much and shown an incredible amount of dedication and care for our beaches, coastline, marine life and oceans.

“We were delighted to have received so many inspirational nominations that show not only the true dedication of these coastal custodians, but also that their efforts don’t go unnoticed by the community.”