6 December 2016

It’s time to register for Big Beach Clean

Organisations and individuals are invited to register for the Nelson Tasman Big Beach Clean, which has been scheduled for Saturday 4 March 2017, to coincide with Seaweek.

Registrations will be accepted between 7 and 21 December, on the Department of Conservation website. 

Rather than registration being first-come first-served as in previous years, registration will be open through until 21 December, and sites will be allocated to groups in January.

In the event of bad weather, the event will be postponed to the following day, Sunday 5 March.

At the last Big Beach Clean in November 2014, over 350 volunteers collected 3.93 tonnes of rubbish from approximately 300 kilometres of coast between Tonga Island and Pepin Island.

Mark Townsend, Operations Manager Motueka encourages people to get a group together and get involved.

“The enthusiasm from the community in previous years has been inspiring.

The amount of rubbish collected has decreased since the first Big Beach Clean in 2010, when 10.489 tonnes was collected.”

The event is organised by DOC in partnership with Nelson City Council, Tasman District Council and Nelmac Ltd.  The annual event has been moved from November to March, to prevent disturbance to nesting birds. 

The date change also brings the event into Seaweek, with which it aligns perfectly. In 2017, Seaweek will run from 25 February to 5 March, with the theme “Toiora te Moana – Toiora te Tangata – Healthy Seas, Healthy People”.

Further information and registration forms will be available on the DOC website from Wednesday 7 December at www.doc.govt.nz/big-beach

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