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Spring cleaning starts at the beach

By IsleOfManAdmin on Sunday, April 5, 2009
Filed Under: Community, Environment, Isle of Man

Isle News, 4 April 2009 – On Sunday 29 March a team from Fairbairn Private Bank joined up with the Manx Wildlife Trust for a beach clean at The Ayres nature reserve. A motley crew of staff, children and dogs took time out of their busy schedules to learn about the area and volunteer to help out.

The brief for the afternoon was to clear the beach of litter, in particular plastic items, which can take over a thousand years to degrade. All the volunteers dug deep and after an hour had managed to fill a pick-up truck with plastic rubbish washed up on the shore.

Janet Taylor, Fairbairn Private Bank’s senior marketing executive, commented: “We have sponsored the Manx Wildlife Trust for many years and felt that this initiative was really worthwhile – especially when there is so much wildlife being put at risk from litter. Helping out the wardens and learning about the nature reserve was very educational and I would recommend anyone to give it a go.”

Around 80% of waste at sea is from the land and up to 80% of that is plastic. This litter can be dangerous to wildlife, either because animals swallow it or because they get irretrievably tangled up in it. According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), more than one million seabirds and one hundred thousand marine mammals are killed annually by plastics in the seas.

The weather for the afternoon was fine and there was a good turnout of volunteers to help. The wardens from the reserve gave an introductory talk and took everyone on a nature walk, looking at the local wildlife and plants. The children even got to do some pond dipping. However, after a picnic lunch of soup and sandwiches, the real hard work started. Everyone split into two teams: one to erect signs to protect ground nesting birds from marauding dogs and another to work on the beach clean.

ENDS

Photograph Available.
Captions:
Children help clean the beach and show off their favourite finds.
A huge amount of rubbish was collected throughout the day.

Notes to Editor:

About Manx Wildlife Trust
The Manx Wildlife Trust is the leading nature conservation charity on the Isle of Man, with concern for both terrestrial and marine environments.

For more information, visit www.manxwt.org.uk

About Fairbairn Private Bank
Fairbairn Private Bank operates a comprehensive private and personal banking operation on behalf of a wide range of clients. These include private individuals, small and large companies, trusts, governments and institutional investors. A full range of banking, investment, trust and corporate services can be accessed through its offices in the Isle of Man, Jersey, London and its representative office in South Africa.

Fairbairn Private Bank is a member of the Old Mutual Group.

When referring to Fairbairn Private Bank – please ensure that the company name is printed in full and not abbreviated.

For Further Information:
Lesley Allegro, Fairbairn Private Bank Tel: +44 (0)1624 645000

Issued By:
Kara Hughes-Jones, Isle of Man Advertising and PR Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1624 620440

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