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Green Coast Clean Coast in the Causeway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyFriday, May 28 2010 Causeway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Green Coast Clean Coast- Beach Clean Up on Portballintrae Beach. Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust staff and volunteers Waved Goodbye to Litter. The team launched a pilot Green Coast Clean Coast campaign in the area to celebrate World Ocean Day. The campaign kicked of on the 28th May in Portballintrae in the Causeway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) with a Beach Clean. CCGHT staff and volunteers were joined by pupils from St Patrick’s & St Brigid’s Primary School, Ballycastle; Bushmills Primary School; Portrush Primary School; Straidbilly Primary School and St Patrick’s Primary School, Portrush and Minister of the Environment Edwin Poots. The same schools were recently involved in the Picture This! photography project. This project was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Finn’s Gallery, a photographic book illustrating many of the children’s images was launched on the same day in Portballintrae Village Hall. On Friday 4th June the team waved goodbye to litter in the Antrim Coast & Glens AONB on Ballycastle beach where they were joined by pupils from Gaelscoil an Chaistil, the Irish medium primary school in Ballycastle, Chair of Moyle District Council, Cara McShane, Head of Tourism and Leisure, Kevin McGarry; Countryside Officer, Michael McConaghy and Tourism Development Officer, Kerrie McGonigle. On Tuesday the 8th June the sparkling sand and sea clean-up team along with the pupils from Ballyhackett and Bellarena Primary Schools headed to Benone Strand in Binevenagh AONB.
World Ocean Day began on 8 June 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On 5 December 2008, the United Nations resolved that from 2009, 8 June would be designated as World Oceans Day. World Ocean Day is an opportunity every year to honour the world's ocean, celebrate the products the ocean provides, such as seafood, as well as marine life and also a time to appreciate its own intrinsic value. The ocean also provides sea-lanes for international trade. Global pollution and over-consumption of fish have resulted in drastically dwindling population of the majority of species.
‘Wear Blue and Tell Two’ is a new way of celebrating World Ocean Day. How clean is your beach? If you would like to join the team to wave goodbye to litter or if you would like to recommend a clean-up project in your Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) contact Sarah Irwin, the Sustainable Development (Tourism) Officer at the CCGHT offices on 02820752100 or sarah@ccght.org |
