Corona Save The Beach art contest update

The contest brief is based around beach conservation and is helping to raise awareness of beach conservation and littering. The entries have been pouring in, with some incredibly inspiring photographs, painting and digital art. Below are some of the recent entries. Click the thumbnails to view full size on Deviant Art.

The Corona Save The Beach campaign is a pioneer environmental initiative to identify, clean up and preserve the beaches of Europe and educate the public about the importance of keeping beaches clean. The campaign is supported by the Foundation for Environmental Education and it’s Blue Flag programme, the quality seal awarded each year to beaches and marinas meeting strict environmental criteria. As well as running this art contest, members of the public were invited to send in their photographs or videos of dirty beaches they visit. In July 2009, Capocotta, a beach on the Roman coast, was the beach chosen by a public vote to be cleaned. Capocotta was shortlisted along with other areas including Puertito de Guimar in Tenerife, Spain, Heraclion in Greece and a beach in Norfolk, UK.

Clean Seas + Great Beaches = Wonderful Open Water Swimming

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) of the UK has launched its user-friendly clean beaches guide. The online guide includes an interactive map with photos and information on hundreds of beaches with the latest water quality data for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The water quality data is visually presented in an easy-to-understand, easy-to-navigate online guide.

The MCS guide includes all the test data – obtained once per week from May to September by the relevant government agencies – and 300 other beaches that are not tested for water quality.

MCS recommends beaches that have passed 100% of the European Mandatory water quality ity tests with at least 80% of the tests passing the European Guideline total and fecal coliform standard and a minimum of 90% of the tests passing the European Guideline fecal streptococci standard. To attain the highest grade, the beaches must also not have poorly treated continuous waste water discharge. The runoff from rain (official ‘wet weather waivers’) are ignored.

MCS also provides information on beaches with bad water quality where swimming is not advised because the water failed the European legal minimum water quality standard and less than 95% of the samples passed the European Mandatory standard. The water at these beaches suffer gross contamination by sewage on at least two occasions in the previous swim season. MCS advises against swimming and other immersion water sports.

Photo shows Port Eynon in Swansea on the Gower peninsula in Britain. The MCS guide describes this as a perfect family beach and an area of outstanding natural beauty with lifeguards, easy access to parking and shopping with a wide expanse of golden sand and rock pools to explore at low tide.
Posted by Steven Munatones – read the original article here