What is Coastcare?
Coastcare comprises voluntary groups around the Irish and Welsh coasts which adopt their favourite beach or stretch of coastline to focus on its on-going care. The Clean Coasts Programme primary aim is to establish and support community Coastcare Groups. These groups form a local network engaged in coastal management environmental actions and education. Coastcare Groups adopt and manage stretches of rural and urban coastline in Ireland. Currently, (May 2010) there are over 120 Coastcare Groups in the Republic of Ireland.
The Coastcare Groups are involved in voluntary environmental action at the coast. This involves amongst others:
· The removal of litter from the marine environment
· Acting as guardians and custodians of the coast, reporting incidents and tackling environmental issues on all levels
· Raising the awareness and profile of local coastal amenities & biodiversity
· Facilitating environmental education and information provision of the coastal area
The Clean Coasts programme acts as a hub for this network, offering support and training in order to increase knowledge and awareness of coastal environmental issues such as water quality, coastal biodiversity and best practice in coastal management. Clean Coasts engages with the community at all levels from schools to local government, to achieve a coast of higher environmental quality through integrated coastal zone management with the engagement of all stakeholders. To find out more about Coastcare Group Types and Activities click here. To see what these groups are doing to protect our coasts see our Flickr page here.