Show Tay St beach some love at clean up day

Sustainable Coastlines will be in town again on Saturday, cleaning up Tay St beach, like they have done in the past. Photo: SUPPLIED

We all know Bay folk love their beach, but now their love has earned it an autumn cleaning spree this weekend.

Sustainable Coastlines' creative projects manager Chris Cochrane says it hooked up with drinks company Phoenix Organics on The Love Project late last year, to find out which coasts Kiwis love most.

"There was two ways that people could vote. One is with the Facebook online forum and then another one was at live events, where stickers were put on a map."

The top three beaches earned a clean-up from Sustainable Coastlines, which has already cleaned up Ruakaka in Northland and New Brighton beach in Christchurch.

This Saturday it's the Mount's turn, with a clean-up from 10am till noon.

He says to look for the big blue Sustainable Coastlines flags on the grassy knoll at the end of Tay Street. Rubbish sacks, gloves and health and safety information will be provided -- all you need to do is sign in, collect clean-up equipment and get stuck in.

"I'm going to have enough gear for hundreds of people, if necessary," Chris says.

"Obviously the more the merrier."

He says he's been in touch with the New Zealand Beach Volleyball team, which held a fundraising clean-up last weekend.

"We are going to be, kind of, working in similar areas that don't overlap too much," he says.

"So between the two clean-ups... there should be a fairly efficient sweep of the Tauranga area."

Sustainable Coastlines is an education-based charitable trust, with two main projects -- Love Your Coast which focuses on marine debris and Love Your Water which looks at freshwater quality.

Chris says Sustainable Coastlines will also have a stall at Earth Hour, promoting their Love Your Coast resources.

"That is basically a hub for other organisations that are doing awesome work... to showcase what they are doing," he says.

It also provides an online forum, logos and poster templates for organisations that don't have those things to help promote what they're doing.

"Love Your Coast is one of those resources that we've been a collaborator in creating, which is our community-based project, I suppose," Chris says.

"When we go to places, we leave Love Your Coast behind."

WHAT YOU NEED

Participants need to bring:
- Sturdy shoes such as sneakers, sports shoes or tramping boots.
- Warm and waterproof clothes: Our weather is unpredictable! Bring at least one warm top (ideally old woollen) and a rain jacket.
- Sun hat and sun cream.
- Reusable water bottle (filled-up and ready to go).
- Camera (optional) -- we would love to see your photos after the event. Share on social media with #loveyourcoast or email to camden@sustainablecoastlines.org

- To take part in the beach clean-up, meet at the knoll opposite Tay St between 10am and noon on Saturday, March 28. Check out www.sustainablecoastlines.org for more information.