Volvo Cork Week 2022 has been awarded Gold Certification by the International ‘Sailors for the Sea’ Clean Regatta programme. The Clean Regattas programme is the world’s only sustainability certification for water-based events. The initiative helps people run more environmentally friendly events to protect local waters and beyond, raising the bar for ocean health around the world.
The event Sustainability Committee was led by Sue Walsh and Celine McGrath and was supported by One Green Village, The Community Foundation for Ireland and Irish Sailing, with Regional Development Officer Gail McAllister being particularly helpful.
One Green Village is a Community initiative in the village of Crosshaven looking at how a village can respond collectively to climate change. It received a grant from The Community Foundation to trial a deposit return scheme for Volvo Cork Week and trial the introduction of deposit return coffee cups and reduction of single use items. One Green Village has also been working on Biodiversity measures including tree planting within the Crosshaven area in conjunction with landowners.
The Community Foundation for Ireland work with corporate and individual donors to provide grants that are strategic, sustainable, and impactful. Their work includes engagement with communities on climate action, Covid 19 response & Human Rights issues.
The ocean is in crisis, every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean from land each year and 40% of the oceans are heavily affected by human activity, including pollution, overfishing and destructive fishing practices, and the loss of coastal habitats.
The Royal Cork Yacht Club implemented a range of Clean Regattas Best Practices to reduce our environmental impact, including the provision of deposit/return system for drink ‘glasses’, hydration stations for reusable water bottles, reusable compostable food and coffee containers, paper straws, energy conservation, online registration forms, and an information campaign on reducing single use plastics and marine litter.
Another initiative and highlight during the family fun day was a workshop with marine scientist, best-selling author and Volvo Car Ireland Brand Ambassador Finn van der Aar. Finn is passionate about helping people to live more sustainably and presented crucial environmental and oceanic research in a way that was understandable to all. During her workshop, children had a chance to learn about how to care for the sea and coastal areas around them. Finn shared tips on how we can combat some marine conservation issues such as marine noise pollution and how to reduce marine plastics. She also gave tips on how to do a great beach clean-up!
The Royal Cork Yacht Club is dedicated to protecting the waters upon which we sail.
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