Back L-R: Mary Lappin and Lesley Crawshaw, Beach Cleaners - Ards and North Down with Ian Humphreys, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful. Front L-R: Joe Mahon, TV Presenter; Joyce Ferder Rankin; Regan Smyth, Beach Cleaners - Ards and North Down; Zoe McGrath, Beach Cleaners - Ards and North Down; Charmaine Beer, Beach Cleaners - Ards and North Down.

A group of litter heroes from Bangor have been recognised at the Live Here Love Here Community Awards for their commitment to making Northern Ireland a cleaner, greener, safer place to live.

The ‘Beach Cleaners’ won the Ards and North Down Litter Heroes Award at the ceremony which was held last night in the Belfast Harbour Commissioner’s Office.  The awards, which are sponsored by ISL Waste Management Ltd and organised by charity Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, celebrate inspirational volunteers from across Northern Ireland who have and continue to instil pride in our local communities through practical environmental action.

The fourteen award winners, aged 5 to 77, showed that caring for your local environment and working to make a change is a passion that spans all generations. From regular litter picks to the creation of shared community spaces these unsung heroes dedicate their time and efforts into making where we live cleaner, greener, safer and more sustainable.

The awards celebrated work such as litter picks, community involvement and going above and beyond all expectations. The bespoke award pieces, handmade out of recycled materials, were created using unplugged methods by David Keys Sustainable Woodcraft.

Dr Ian Humphreys, CEO of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said, “We are all remembered for our actions and everyone involved in Live Here Love Here, whether volunteer or funding partner, is changing people’s lives for the better and leaving a lasting legacy. With 170 nominations for tonight’s awards it is obvious that there is a growing movement of people who act because they care.”

The awards were sponsored by ISL Waste Management Ltd. Speaking on behalf of ISL Waste Management Ltd, Managing Director Barry Donaghy said the company was privileged to support the Community Awards.

“As a business, ISL delivers a zero waste to landfill promise to our clients. We are also passionate about educating everyone on the need to reduce the amount of waste we produce, make wise choices on what materials we buy as consumers and be aware of the impact we have on the environment. We can’t take the attitude that it’s someone else’s problem.

“Supporting the Live Here Love Here Community Awards is an essential message to the whole business community that if we all play our part in creating a clean environment we will make Northern Ireland a place where people want to live and work.”

Guests were entertained by music from talented Claire Louise Turner and Eastside Partnership Community Choir. Award winning journalist, Joyce Ferder Rankin was the guest speaker for the night, and spoke about what is happening to our changing environment and what one person can do to help save the world.

Prizes were donated by Belfast Cookery School, Jungle NI, Ulster Rugby, Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel and Chalets and The Odyssey Trust Company.

Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful run a number of campaigns and programmes that embody the values of Live Here Love Here through the help of dedicated volunteers who truly love where they live.

If you would like to find out more or get involved with Live Here Love Here please visit our website; www.liveherelovehere.org or contact enquiries@liveherelovehere.org.