The Co. Waterford beaches of Woodstown Strand, Helvick Cove and the Curragh, at Ardmore, were recently included in the Green Coasts Awards list for 2008, for their commitment to improving the environment of the county’s coastline.
The winning beaches were recognised to have EU Guideline water quality (Blue Flag Standard) and prepared beach management plans which are to be implemented and reviewed in the future. It is hoped that local communities in these areas will assist in the review and implementation of these plans; they can do this by contacting Waterford County Council’s Environment Section or the An Taisce Environmental Education Unit.
Clean Coasts is a two part coastal environmental programme, the first part of which is the ‘Green Coast Award’ and the second is ‘Coast Care’. ‘Coast Care Groups’ groups organise coastal clean ups, eliminate ‘eyesores’, act as guardians of the coast, improve facilities, report incidents and tackle environmental problems both small and large. These ‘Coast Care Groups’ are encouraged to adopt and manage stretches of the rural coastline in Ireland. If community groups or individuals would like to get involved in Coast Care they can do so by registering with Aidan Gray from An Taisce on 01 4002221 or by emailing cleancoast1@antaisce.org. Further info on phase 1 of the programme can be found on www.cleancoastproject.org.
