Beach Buddies Isle of Man has had another incredibly busy and successful month combining community clean-ups, school engagement, media appearances and environmental education across the Island.
Community Beach Cleans
Our dedicated volunteers turned out in fantastic numbers at beach cleans around the Island:
- Peel – 44 volunteers (4 new)
- Douglas (HBN School Clean) – 30 volunteers (10 new)
- Port St Mary – 33 volunteers
- Ballaghennie – 5 volunteers
- Balleira – 38 volunteers (2 new)
- Home Education Group, Douglas – 16 volunteers (12 new)
In total, 166 volunteers joined us this month including 28 new volunteers experiencing their first Beach Buddies clean. It’s always encouraging to see new faces getting involved and supporting our work.
Through beach cleans and our Island wide bins we collected 1,900kg of rubbish to be deposited at the Energy from Waste plant. This figure excludes recyclable materials such as metal, cans, glass and plastic bottles which were separated and sent for recycling.
Every clean makes a visible difference to our coastline and every volunteer plays a vital role.
Media Coverage & Website Launch
This month also marked an exciting step forward with the launch of our new website.
Beach Buddies was featured in:
- An online interview with Coast Magazine
- A Manx Radio News interview
- Coverage in Isle of Man Newspapers
The media interest highlights the growing awareness of environmental issues and the importance of community led action to protect our beaches.
Education & Community Outreach
Education remains at the heart of what we do. This month included:
- Presentations at Rushen Primary School and St John’s Primary School
- Participation in Arbory Primary School Public Speaking, where pupil Eleanor gave an inspiring talk about plastic pollution and Beach Buddies
- A beach clean with Scoill Phurt le Moirrey
- A clean up event with Henry Bloom Noble School, along with litter picking kit delivery
- Litter picking kits delivered to Onchan Primary School
- A visit to Victoria Road Primary School Eco Council, with a litter picking kit delivered too,
- A beach clean with home education students in Onchan
Engaging young people is essential to building long term change. By working directly with schools and youth groups, we are helping to inspire the next generation of environmental champions.
Looking Ahead
The continued support from volunteers, schools and the wider community demonstrates the strength of environmental awareness across the Isle of Man. Whether through hands on clean-ups, educational talks or media engagement, Beach Buddies remains committed to protecting our coastline for everyone.
We have a number of events planned in March which can be found here.
Thank you to everyone who took part this month, your time and effort truly make a difference.
