At its core Clean Coast Outer Hebrides is a group people who care about the coastal environment. Clean Coast Outer Hebrides formed in 2018 as the continuation and development of claddach, an active and popular environmental group founded by Clean Coast Outer Hebrides Chair Janet Marshall, in 2017. As the acting environmental spokesperson for the Outer Hebrides we are raising awareness of, and actively pursuing solutions to, the pollution that is present in the coastal regions of the Outer Hebrides, and its potential negative impacts on life. We are also advocates of the sustainable use of coasts and oceans. After much dedicated work, on the 16th May, 2019, Clean Coast Outer Hebrides achieved Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation status (SC049307).
It is hard to ignore the fact that the shores of the Outer Hebrides are getting dirtier, more plastics, more visible, and worryingly more invisible, pollution. My original aim was to do a little fundraising in order to charter boats to reach the less accessible shores. However, following my postings on Facebook, the response was so fantastic, so enthusiastic, and simply brimming with good ideas that I have set my sights a bit higher. – Janet Marshall, December 2017
This seal was found tangled in a fishing net on Dalbeg Beach, Isle of Lewis, 1stFebruary, 2019 and reported in Sea Voice News. The net has cut into the seals neck and reduced its ability to hunt and eat resulting in a significant reduction of the seal’s body mass and eventually death. “More than 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear is lost or abandoned in the ocean each year and it can continue to catch an kill animals for hundreds of years, causing untold suffering” – Chiari Vitali, World Animal Protection. On behalf of all who live and visit the islands Clean Coast Outer Hebrides hope that you will actively support our goal to reduce the amount of plastic pollution on the beaches of the Outer Hebrides. Image courtesy of Noel Hawkins, Ullapool, Living Seas Project.
We are actively supporting, organising, leading, and participating in beach cleaning around the Outer Hebrides. We are not activists, our work is conducted in harmony, partnership, and collaboration, with others, including the local council, schools, and community organisations, as well as families and individuals, to best serve the communities we work with. In 2019 we will start working towards achieving Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Community Status. Clean Coast Outer Hebrides is also a member of the Coastal Communities Network (CCN), (read the CCN Community Pledge) and works closely with the Scottish Islands Federation and Highland Environment Forum.
A view from Lochmaddy Pier that reinforces the urgent need for plastic pollution solutions and plastic free communities.
We are a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, with membership open to any person or organisation interested in supporting our aims with a specific interest in the Outer Hebrides.
To contact us, please email the team at hello@cleancoastoh.com, or get in touch via our Facebook page. You can join our Facebook group to hear our updates and we encourage you to become a member, join the conversation, post your latest thoughts, and get active in tackling plastic pollution!
The main organising committee meets monthly, with an annual AGM for all members, and other sub-committee meetings as necessary.
Due to the difficulty of accessing some beaches unsightly plastic pollution, hazardous to wildlife and farm animals, has collected on the foreshore for many years. Picture is of an inaccessible beach near Chicken Rock, only accessible by boat between Swordale and Bayble. By working together, positive, community-driven change is possible, please get involved!
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