Ocean Hero Youth Award for Navan group
Navan National Learning Network has been announced as the winner of the 'Youth of the Year' award at the Ocean Hero awards ceremony hosted by An Taisce's Clean Coasts programme at the Gibson Hotel, Dublin.
The awards celebrate and give thanks to the dedicated groups, individuals, communities, and businesses who have gone above and beyond to protect their local coastline and its surrounding environment in 2024.
Every year, the Ocean Hero Awards recognise the invaluable contribution and dedication that Clean Coasts volunteers, groups and communities give towards conserving Ireland’s unique coastal heritage.
In 2024, Clean Coasts determined six distinct categories, and after hundreds of nominations were received, a total of 30 groups, organisations and individuals made the shortlist for the title of Ocean Hero in each category. At the awards ceremony, the hard work and achievements this year of each group was showcased and celebrated.
In County Meath, the students in the Navan National Learning Networkwon in the Youth of the Year category for their efforts in protecting and preserving their local waterways in 2024.
This past summer students completed their QQI Level 3 Community Participation Module that included working with the Clean Coasts Programme where they took part and evaluated their time working with Clean Coasts. Also, over the summer, development officer Aidan ran education workshops with the students on the work that Clean Coasts does, and how they can help.
This year they also took part in a clean-up of the Ramparts on the River Boyne where they met the Litter Warden from Meath County Council who thanked them for their work and discussed the importance of people volunteering to do clean-ups and how it keeps our rivers and waterways safe and clean.
They have also completed clean-ups on the beaches of Bettystown, Laytown, Mornington and Clogherhead removing tons of litter while completing various educational activities on the beach cleans. Liam from Bettystown Tidy Town delivered a talk to them on sand dunes & the blue flag that they have received and the group is well educated on a range of topics, including marine biodiversity, Clean Coasts Think Before You Flush campaign, and on the impacts of climate change.
Established in 2006 as the 'Clean Coasts Merit Awards,' the awards initially featured a single category, 'The Clean Coasts Group of the Year.' Since then, the awards have grown alongside the programme itself as more groups have come on board. As of 2024 there are over 2,000 Clean Coasts groups and over 40,000 volunteers who are actively engaging with the programme and who are integral to their coastal communities nationwide.