Burleigh Heads has won theYoung Legendscategory and finished overall runner-up at Keep Australia Beautiful’s 2015 Clean Beaches Awards.
The awards were announced in Darwin yesterday (August 14), with Western Australia’s Guilderton Beach taking home the title of Australia’s cleanest beach.
Burleigh became eligible for the national honour after being named Queensland’s cleanest beach in May, a tribute to initiatives led by groups including the Griffith Centre for Coastal Management (GCCM).
Along with the GCCM’s BeachCare program, the City of Gold Coast, local schools, scouting groups, surf lifesavers, the Jellurgal Aboriginal Cultural Centre and other community, environmental and sporting groups all contribute to keeping Burleigh beautiful.
Activities include daily maintenance and beach sweeps, beach care litter clean-ups and audits, a butterfly corridor project, water conservation strategies, a solar-powered beach patrol tower, a heritage trail, a dune plant propagation program and outstanding school education through the GCCM.
Clean beaches judge Ms Averil Bones said Burleigh was a deserving winner of the Young Legends category.
“Youth 4 Beaches has adopted Burleigh Heads beach and headland through Keep Queensland Beautiful’s Adopt-a-spot,” she said.“This contributes to the vision of making a positive impact on decreasing the amount of litter at Gold Coast beaches, and fighting for a litter-free future.”
Youth 4 Beaches is a non-profit organisation that encourages local youth to lead healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyles within the community.
The Australian Clean Beaches Awards are sponsored by the federal Department for the Environment.