Words by Smiley Team
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Plastic waste in the ocean is set to treble within the next 10 years. The Beach Guardian community interest company (CIC) was launched due to the need within our community to tackle the issue of plastics. And their original aim? To engage more than 1,000 volunteers in its first 12 months.
The company collects disbanded plastics from local beaches, then uses them to deliver education activities in primary schools and other events.
“We want to share out message with thousands of children and empower everyone with the knowledge of the effects that single-use plastics have on our environment,” they say.
Emily Stevenson, 24, from Cornwall, founded Beach Guardian with her dad, Rob. After spending her life on the beaches in Cornwall, plastic pollution is something she has always been exposed to. “But, now that is the very reason why I will dedicate the rest of my life to tackling it.” she says.
“Our aim is to engage, educate and empower against plastic pollution,” says Emily. “Beach Guardian has organised over 250 community clean-up events, supporting over 15,000 volunteer hours, since 2017.
“We have also engaged with every primary and secondary school and college in Cornwall, and with a further 30,000 young people worldwide.”
Not only is the ocean important for food and recreation, but it provides the very oxygen that we breathe.
“Beach Guardian strives to empower communities to take care of their local environment and to instigate positive change,” says Emily. “Locally, this will improve wellbeing of both people and planet, and collectively, it’s the global movement we need in the face of climate breakdown.”
The community interest company is currently crowdfunding for support.
“Covid-19 has shown us how much we rely on the environment; unfortunately, it’s no longer a case of if you should care about the environment, but when you choose to care. If you wait until it’s too late to realise the threats we are facing and to respond, then it’s likely that those threats will already be realised.”
Support the Beach Guardian company here on Crowdfunder.
Could you make this happen in your community? Be part of the change. Or, if you, or someone you know, has launched a crowdfunding social enterprise project, email [email protected].
