Members of the Rathmullan Coastcare group receive their award
The Rathmullan Coastcare Group were awarded the ‘Coastcare Newcomer of the Year Award for 2012’ for their work in raising environmental awareness and actively working to keep Rathmullan beach litter free.
The Award was presented at An Taisce’s annual Clean Coasts Symposium & Coastcare Merit Awards which were held on Friday 30th November at The Royal College of Physicians, Dublin.
Speaking at the Awards, Fiona Kelly of the Rathmullan Coastcare Group said “The Group were delighted to have been nominated and receive this award” and said “The Award can be attributed to the hard work and efforts of local volunteers and workers in Rathmullan in striving to keep Rathmullan litter-free”.
The Rathmullan Coastcare Group was established in May 2012 and set about organising a programme of events for the year.
The Coastcare Group was set up as a sub-committee of the Rathmullan Sailing and Watersports Club and the group would like to acknowledge the support of the Sailing Club in all their activities.
Some of the projects the group has worked on include beach cleans, litter surveys, schools walks and talks and species mapping.
As part of the SeaFest 2012 programme there was a strong environmental focus where speakers from both An Taisce and Donegal County Council delivered environmental talks to local primary schools. A beach walk was also conducted by Eoin Toomey showcasing the diversity of wildlife on the beach and the Clean Coasts Photography Exhibition was on display in the SeaFest Tent which was very popular.
The Coastcare Group have been working with Donegal County Council to have a ‘Beach Information Sign’ placed at Rathmullan beach which will display information relating to water quality, beach activities etc. The Group has also sought funding for anti-litter awareness signage and a dog poop-scoop dispenser and bin.
The Rathmullan Coastcare Group supports the provision of permanent public toilet facilities in Rathmullan to cater for the large number of visitors to Rathmullan.
Some of the planned activities for 2013 include setting up a ‘Biodiversity Trail’ along The Walks in Rathmullan, an underwater clean-up, a talk on the Birds of Lough Swilly and an on-going programme of beach cleans.
The next big beach clean has been planned for January 1st 2013 to co-incide with the New Years Day Swim in Rathmullan to ensure that the beach is clean for all participants. Patricia McAteer of the Rathmullan Coastcare Group said that “Anyone that is interested in participating in any of the Coastcare activities is welcome to come along to any of the planned events. New volunteers are always welcome”.
The Clean Coasts symposium was officially opened by Mr. Fergus O’Dowd, TD Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government. The symposium was an important knowledge exchange forum for those with an interest coastal conservation particularly the issue of marine litter.
Minister O’Dowd said that, “An important aspect of Clean Coasts initiative is the involvement of Coast Care Volunteer Groups. Their efforts are fundamental to achieving and maintaining Green Coast status. The 285 active Coast care community groups currently involved are to be commended for their on-going efforts and this provides a strong indication of the pride that individuals have in their communities and surroundings.”
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