Keeping our Beaches Beautiful with Beach Buddies

Our mission to protect the environment and preserve our ocean has begun!

Last Friday, we had our first team beach clean with local charity, Beach Buddies.

In the afternoon we headed to Derbyhaven, which is a long stretch of beach located on the south coast of the Island near the airport. The weather was beautiful, which really added to the positive afternoon we had planned to give back to the place we call home.

Prior to this, we received a talk from Bill Dale, Beach Buddies founder, who gave an introduction to the charity, and how it all began back in 2004 with just himself picking up plastic whilst walking his dogs. He quickly discovered the shocking problem that had washed up on the Manx shores, and imminently began cleaning up the beaches on the Isle of Man, which housed thousands of plastic pollutants.

It didn’t take long for others to become aware and offer their help, which took his simple act of a good deed to a new sustainable movement involving thousands of people of all ages across the Isle of Man. Bills dedication to tackling plastic pollution over the years, and growing following of people committed to his cause is how Beach Buddies formed. The charity has made a monumental impact on the Islands shores, which have become recognised as some of the cleanest in the world.

We could not help but be inspired by the work that Beach Buddies had done, and with our strong connection that we already held with ocean, where we provide services in the maritime sector, we already knew that we had to become apart of this sustainable initiative.

Once Bill had shared the inspiring Beach Buddies story with the team, we eagerly headed to the beach to kick start our new team initiative that encompasses our love for the ocean and how we can do our part to protect it. A pair of gloves on, with a litter picker and bag in hand, we took to the beach and studied the shores searching between the stones and seaweed to rid the beach of harmful plastic pollutants that is toxifying our natural environment and harming the wildlife that lives in it.

A hour or so later, we had bags full of all sorts of plastic from tiny micro-plastics, to straws, cans and bottles. An activity such as this is so rewarding in such a short amount of time, but it also sadly highlights that we are facing environmental issues that need our attention.

Overall, the team had a fantastic afternoon, our first beach clean was a success and we finished it with huge smiles on our faces. Its only our first one, but it was our first and we can’t wait to begin this journey with Beach Buddies to keeping our beaches beautiful locally and all around the world.