This will encourage environmentally responsible outdoor events around Morecambe Bay.
Morecambe Bay Partnership has worked with the outdoor event industry around Cumbria and Lancashire to create a resource aimed at supporting outdoor event organisers and participants to reduce negative impacts on the environment.
Morecambe Bay is the largest intertidal area in the UK that covers 308km2 of protected coastline, estuaries and sands.
It supports an outstanding diversity of wildlife and is one of the UK’s most important biodiversity hotspots, home to internationally significant populations of birds, flora and invertebrates.
The Bay is renowned for its truly outstanding landscapes of spectacular scale and grandeur and is full of heart-stopping land and seascapes.
Because of this, Morecambe Bay is becoming an increasingly popular place to host a variety of outdoor events, which is a great opportunity to improve health and wellbeing and is an important part of the local economy.
With hundreds, sometimes nearer to thousands, of participants attending big events, there's potential for a negative impact on the environment:big carbon emission from participants travelling to the event, surplus food leftover, along with single use items and dropped litter.
Morecambe Bay Partnership has joined together with event organisers to co-create and design a pack to help events be more sustainable and reduce negative impacts on the environment.
Beach Officer Lauren said: “The research has been done and it is in an easy-to-read resource with simple to implement solutions. It includes case studies from events including The Lap (Windermere), Bay Limestone Round and T2 Events, who all prioritise the environment when planning their events.
"It’s also useful for anyone who participates in outdoor events, to see how the events they take part in can implement more environmental responsibility.
“Thanks to funding from the European Outdoor Conservation Association, the Clear the Bay Project has been really positive.
"There’s lots of organisations doing fantastic things with the environment at the heart of each decision they make – which is what we want to get to for all outdoor events. There’s still a way to go for other events to follow suit, but this is a great step in the right direction”.
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