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Spring onto Your Shore - Your Local Group Needs You!

Love Your Beach Day in Bude, Image by A Greener Bude

As the country’s COVID-19 Response Roadmap brings us out of lockdown, it’s time to get active and give back to the community and environment that has helped so many get through some very tough times over the past year. To do just that, Cornwall Wildlife Trust is calling on the public to join the Your Shore Network of local marine groups this Spring and be part of our nature’s recovery.

Cornwall’s Your Shore Network is a collection of community- and volunteer-led local wildlife groups, working around the county to protect our special marine and coastal environment. For the past five years the Network has been supported by The Your Shore Beach Rangers (YSBR) Project, a dynamic and vibrant collaboration between Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Cornwall College and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund through the Our Bright Future programme.

Through events, training and the establishment of the Beach Rangers Academy, YSBR united communities and young people in Cornwall to combat threats to their local marine environment while giving people a stronger voice for its protection. The Project...

  • created an impressive 670 Beach Rangers through the Academy
  • hosted 1,000 events in person and online for all ages
  • engaged with 16,000 young people
  • removed 80 tonnes of coastal rubbish in one year alone, and
  • connected with existing marine groups and created new ones, forming a 17-strong network around the county.
Three Bays Wildlife Group Chairman Jeremy Roberts

Three Bays Wildlife Group Chairman Jeremy Roberts, Image by Lewis Jefferies

“The Project provided the means – through funds, guidance, and enthusiasm – to make Three Bays Wildlife a reality. The impact of this and the wider scope of the project really is having a positive effect on Cornwall’s wildlife and is engaging with a new audience of young and old individuals. This engagement, which has inspired so many who will continue the good work, will be the project’s true legacy for many years to come”
Jeremy Roberts
From the Three Bays Wildlife Group, one of the groups in the 17-strong Network

The project ends on 31st March 2021, but the legacy of this work will have a lasting effect on the beautiful and valuable Cornish coast and the people who live by it. Cornwall Wildlife Trust remains committed to supporting the 17 marine groups around the county which aim to assist with nature recovery on their doorsteps.

Happy young people partaking in a YSBR snorkel

Happy young people partaking in a YSBR snorkel, Image by Lewis Jefferies

The Your Shore Network Volunteers from Cornwall’s Marine Conservation Groups credit Vinny Stelzer

Abby Crosby, Your Shore Beach Rangers Project Manager, said:

“Cornwall Wildlife Trust are incredible proud of our unique Your Shore Network in Cornwall – thousands of people on the ground making a real difference to the way in which we manage and protect our coasts and seas. We encourage anyone who has an interest or passion for the ocean to join their local group and get involved, whatever your background or skills, as there is a role for everyone.”

For more information on the Your Shore Beach Rangers Project, check out beachrangers.com. The Project has also launched a new film this February, available to view below, so all viewers can celebrate its achievements from the past five years.

Whatever your skills and interests, if you have a passion for your local environment and want to help see, visit the Your Shore Network webpage to find your local group and join the movement.

Please note that all images of community groups featured in this article where taken pre Covid-19. 

A celebration of Your Shore Beach Rangers (https://youtu.be/1xOa-mdkkj8)

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