Clean Beach Challenge - National Awards

Keep Australia Beautiful's Clean Beach Challenge is a beach focused, community-based program which aims to enhance beachside communities and the environment by promoting personal initiative, civic pride and environmental awareness.

The Clean Beach Challenge has been running for a number of years in New South Wales and Queensland. More recently it has been launched in Victoria. In New South Wales, the number of beaches nominated has increased three fold since the program was established.

There are many benefits in participating:

• The Challenge acknowledges Councils, Community groups and Individuals who take time out to protect and enhance their environment

• It provides local government authorities, schools and community groups (such as boardriders clubs) encouragement for undertaking environmental programs

• Establishes and enhances working relationships between local government authorities, community groups, schools, local business and industry in environmental projects

• Raises public awareness of a range of environmental issues and related projects.

"Why should surfers and beach goers get involved? We don't want even more people coming to our beach."

It's a statement we hear all the time. Why get involved? Because it's been estimated the population on our coastline will increase 60% in the next 20 years, so it's more than likely that your beach, wherever you are, will see an increase in population and infrastructure, and the threats to your fragile coastal environment increased.

The Clean Beach Challenge encourages participants to have management plans in place, so that when these threats and developments occur, you'll be geared up and good to go, not unprepared and unaware.

A good example of this preparation were the crew from Broulee Boardriders Club on the New South Wales South Coast. In 2003 they achieved some great results in the Challenge because they had their act together and were working with their local community to see their beach environment protected and enhanced.

At a community awards ceremony held at Greater Taree City Council's meeting on Wednesday 18th February 2004, New South Wales took the lion's share of awards from Queensland in the Australian Clean Beach Challenge, taking out five of the eight categories on offer.

Australia's Cleanest Beach went to The Strand in north Queensland (over Black Head Beach on the NSW north coast).

New South Wales' beaches dominated the honours in resource conservation and waste management, youth involvement, community action, community-local government partnerships and beach spirit.

After regional and state judging, awards are presented for the overall Cleanest Beach as well as in eight other categories. The winners go on to compete nationally.

The 2004 winners of the eight national Awards were:

Australia's Friendliest Beach Scarborough Beach (Redcliffe, south east Qld)

Resource Conservation Balmoral Beach (Sydney Harbour, NSW) & Waste Management Award

Young Legends Award Kingscliff Beach (northern NSW)

Community Action Award Werri Beach (Kiama, Illawarra region, NSW)

Community - Local Government Manly Council for Manly Beach, (Sydney, NSW) Partnership Award

Litter Prevention Award Noosaville Foreshore Beach (Sunshine Coast, Qld)

Protection of the Environment Award Holloways Beach (north Queensland)

Beach Spirit Award Rosedale (Bateman's Bay, south coast NSW)

The Clean Beach Challenge is an excellent way to showcase the country's most active and committed beach communities, and provides Keep Australia Beautiful with the opportunity to publicly recognise and reward good coastal management and community initiative.

It is planned to attract the remaining States and Territory, so that the competition to find Australia's Cleanest Beach becomes truly Australia-wide.

Keep an eye out for our Clean Beach Challenge Launches, and if you'd like to see last year's results, or learn more about the Challenge, have a squizz at www.kabnsw.org.au or email us at info@kabnsw.org.au

Chris Tola
Program Manager
Clean Beach Challenge

2004 Legal & Marketing Director
Surfrider Foundation (Australia)