Clean Jurassic Coast
1740. Roy Beal
Roy Beal, from East Devon, set up ‘Clean Jurassic Coast’ to clear litter and plastic pollution from the East Devon and Dorset coast and help preserve the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Roy is a passionate sea kayaker along the Jurassic Coast, which stretches for 95 miles from Exmouth in East Devon to Swanage in Dorset and is unique for its geological history stretching back over 185 million years. After seeing the large amounts of rubbish left by tourists visiting the area, he set up ‘Clean Jurassic Coast’ to raise awareness of the impact of plastic pollution and educate others on substances which may be harmful to the marine environment. Through the initiative, Roy has also developed a large network of volunteer beach cleaners, who have collectively removed in excess of 1500kg of plastic from the coast in 2021 so far. An active ambassador with Keep Britain Tidy, Roy further helped raise awareness of plastic pollution by paddling the length of Britain in his wooden kayak in spring 2021, travelling across 963 miles of sea, river and canal from John O’Groats to Land’s End over the course of 56 days.
In response to receiving the award, Roy said:
“Thank you very much for this Point of Light Award. It is a lovely and unexpected surprise and wouldn’t have been possible without the other brilliant volunteers I am fortunate to have by my side.
“Teamwork and education is the key to reducing littering so hopefully this award will also help raise awareness of that. Thank you again.”