Latest news with #BeachBuddies
BBC News
17 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Litter at school campus branded 'utter shambles' by Beach Buddies
The volume of litter at a secondary school campus has been branded an "utter shambles" by a volunteer group after its members cleared up rubbish including 415 plastic 50 members of Beach Buddies took part in the clear-up around St Ninian's Lower School at Bemahague, in Onchan, collecting about 331lbs (150kg) of litter. Founder Bill Dale said it was "disappointing" to see the area in an "absolute mess" and the situation highlighted the continued need to educate children about the danger littering posed to the school and the education department have been contacted for response. Following the group's efforts on Sunday, Mr Dale said there was a "psychology" that once a place is clean, people would be less likely to "drop the next piece of litter", because it would stand he said if there were "already piles of rubbish around", there was a perception that discarding a "few more bits doesn't seem to matter". He said the items retrieved included plastic bottles, sweet, chocolate and crisp wrappers, tin cans and fast food packaging, which indicated the rubbish was likely dropped by said the charity regularly visits schools across the island to promote the "responsible disposal" of litter through its education programme, but had not visited St Ninian's Lower School "in a few years".Although the education programme had been "massively successful", particularly with primary schools, the situation at the Bemahague site had been reported to Beach Buddies by a member of Friends of the Earth Isle of Man, Mr Dale said. It was was "an utter shambles and heart-breaking" to find one school in "such a mess", he continued.A meeting with the school had been organised for next week to find a way to "make sure this does not happen again".It was important to speak out now to prevent the island going "seriously backwards" in its mindset towards littering, he he said it did not mean the island was "not still regarded as a fantastic example to the rest of the world as to how a community can get together and make a difference", he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Charity plans clean-up event for Southern 100 course
Volunteers are urged to come and help sweep up rubbish from the Isle of Man's Southern 100 course ahead of the Pre-TT Classics races. Beach Buddies will be handing out cleaning materials from the course headquarters from 18:00 BST for people to help spruce up the 4.25 mile (6.8km) Billown Circuit. The charity said because the event will take place on busy roads children are not encouraged to take part. Beach Buddies will then be taking a break over the TT fortnight, with no further dates planned until 15 June. The break would reduce the need for volunteers to travel on the roads at the what is always the busiest time of the year, it said. The Pre-TT Classics races take place on Thursday and Friday on the Billown Circuit. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. Beach cleaning charity hosts inland clear-ups Plea for responsible use of bins around island's coast Beach clean charity 'inspiring a generation' Beach Buddies Southern 100
BBC News
21-05-2025
- BBC News
Charity plans clean-up event for Southern 100 course
Volunteers are urged to come and help sweep up rubbish from the Isle of Man's Southern 100 course ahead of the Pre-TT Classics Buddies will be handing out cleaning materials from the course headquarters from 18:00 BST for people to help spruce up the 4.25 mile (6.8km) Billown Circuit. The charity said because the event will take place on busy roads children are not encouraged to take part. Beach Buddies will then be taking a break over the TT fortnight, with no further dates planned until 15 June. The break would reduce the need for volunteers to travel on the roads at the what is always the busiest time of the year, it Pre-TT Classics races take place on Thursday and Friday on the Billown Circuit. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
14-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Channel Islands Beach Clean to include Isle of Man for first time
The Isle of Man will feature in a major beach cleaning drive this weekend for the first Big Channel Islands Beach Clean - which takes place in Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark - is being extended in its seventh year to include the Isle of Man. Volunteers across the British Crown Dependencies are being encouraged to do their bit to tackle Dale, founder of Beach Buddies on the Isle of Man, said: "Islands understand the problem of beach pollution more than anyone else because they have to live with it every day." 'Collective responsibility' Mr Dale said he hoped the weekend would foster greater links with the Channel Islands. "We are all in this together and they have got similar problems to what we have," he added. "We all have to take collective responsibility."Mr Dale said he was expecting hundreds of people to take part on the Isle of are being encouraged to pick their favourite local beach and let organisers know where they go, how many participated and the weight of the rubbish they ultimately collected. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
15-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Isle of Man beach cleans to protect birds ahead of nesting season
People on the Isle of Man have been encouraged to join organised beach cleans ahead of nesting season to help to protect chicks from plastic Buddies founder Bill Dale said volunteers would concentrate their efforts on beaches "where thousands of seabirds lay their eggs each year".He said evidence suggested rubbish left on the beach could be "mistaken by birds for food, which can then be fed to their chicks".The sessions take place between 10:30 and 12:00 GMT at Langness on Sunday, with another at the same time at Smeale on 23 February. Mr Dale said volunteers would "do our best" to clear up the two "major areas" covering a stretch about 12 miles (19km) ahead of nesting season, which runs from March to August."It's a simple, clear message message - get rid of the rubbish before the bird nesting season starts to protect them," he 200 tonnes of waste is collected by Beach Buddies each year after being washed up along the island's has included fishing gear, such as ropes and netting, plastic bottles, tin cans, tents and sleeping bags. But Mr Dale said if residents could not join the organised Sunday sessions he would "really encourage people to pick up as much litter in these areas as they can over the next couple of weeks"."The more we take off the beaches, the better it is for birds," he up in 2006, the group holds regular beach cleaning sessions across the organisation has recently shared its upset at a rise in the fly-tipping of electrical goods on the Manx coast. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
