Queuing to adopt beaches – NRK Sørlandet – Local News, TV and Radio

National Beach Cleanup Week began this weekend. People all over the country have collected garbage in the skerries. Taking responsibility for your own beach areas is more motivating, according to those who have tried it.

Huge progress

The Our Beaches organization is now being destroyed by people wanting to adopt a beach, says General Manager Eugene Guribye.

– It is beyond all expectations. We can’t take care of everyone, but we hope that everyone who wishes will get their cleaning area in the long run.

So far, Våre Strender has signed agreements for more than 60 beach areas in Sørlandet. There, the organization contributes with the elimination of waste and the loan of cleaning equipment.

– We are talking about everything from individual beaches to entire islands in the southern archipelago, says Guribye. And everything from individuals and families to organizations and businesses can participate in the scheme.

Adopted an entire island

Gisle Bernhard Brøvig and several of her colleagues from the Gard company in Arendal have adopted an entire island. On Saturday, he and 30 other people were removing garbage on the island. The area is a vacation paradise widely used by locals and tourists.

– We have collected garbage all over the island. It ranges from sandy beaches to pebbles, where large amounts of plastic debris adhere.

Gard is a marine insurance company and Brøvik says that employees feel a great responsibility to contribute.

– We work with insurance for large ships and we care about helping to prevent marine litter.

National trend

The Keep Norway Clean organization confirms the trend. They have 90 adoptions that apply to beaches and other types of habitat in the project, My bit of Norway

– We are sure that this is the future way to organize clearing in nature.

Here’s what the organization’s CEO Lise Keilty Gulbransen says. She believes that extensive cleanup operations with up to 100,000 people in action will be difficult to sustain in the long term.

– It becomes more motivating when you take responsibility for the natural areas you know and must take care of.

– Get beach ownership

Guribye at Our Beaches says they have experienced a general decline in interest in participating in great volunteer work on scheduled days. Especially after the pandemic hit.

– But when you take responsibility for your own beach area, you can clean up when it suits you best.

Those who enter the scheme agree to clean a specific beach or area by the sea, at least twice a year. The project will be the largest of its kind in this country.

– Beach areas are a very important part of people’s lives here in the south. Makes you really want to take responsibility, think.

Family adopted three beaches

Jaran Flaath and his family of four have taken over responsibility for three small beaches in the heart of Sømskilen in Grimstad.

– We live nearby and we think it’s practical and okay to have responsibility for this area that we otherwise use a lot.

He says the family with two children picks up waste regularly, because new trash is constantly flowing into the area.