An initiative that invites everyone in the Isle of Man to get involved in an anti-litter campaign to set an example to the rest of the world will be launched this week.

To start the campaign, Beach Buddies is working in partnership with Douglas Council and Isle of Man Friends of the Earth.

The council is joining forces with Beach Buddies as the Manx charity links up with two schools in Douglas to Love Where You Live, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign urging communities to come together on volunteer projects aimed at respecting and protecting their local environment.

On Friday (March 23) Beach Buddies will be working alongside pupils from Anagh Coar and Manor Park schools to clean up their school grounds, supported by volunteers from the Council and Isle of Man Friends of the Earth.

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The following day will see Beach Buddies and their supporters join the pupils’ parents and the wider Pulrose and Anagh Coar community on a litter-clearing session.

Beach Buddies wants to expand the project to cover every school across the island, asking all 15,000 school children and their families to take part during the ’Year of Our Island 2018’.

Beach Buddies’ founder Bill Dale said: ’The aim of the project is to set a precedent in the British Isles by engaging with everyone in the community across the island to take part in two major events each year, to clear up existing litter hotspots and then to keep on top of the problem regularly in the future.’

Isle of Man Friends of the Earth co-ordinator Pete Christian said: ’Isle of Man Friends of the Earth are delighted to support this joint initiative in taking practical steps to improve one important aspect of our environment.’

Douglas Council’s environmental services committee chairman, Councillor Ritchie McNicholl, said: ’We’re pleased to be joining Beach Buddies in this initiative, as it builds on the council’s long-running series of "Big Tidy Up" campaigns and complements our support of Love Where You Live, which we launched in October last year.

’Litter is very much a community problem that demands a community response. Our street cleansing teams do all they can but the Council alone cannot rid the town of litter; to achieve that, it has to be a shared endeavour.

’It’s about changing attitudes and behaviour, and encouraging communities to develop a strong sense of civic pride. Initiatives such as this led by FIM Capital Beach Buddies can help to raise awareness and make a very real difference - hopefully not just for the life of the campaign, but for the long-term future of our town and our island.’

The initiative will see all island schools invited to take part in the Love Where You Live programme twice a year.

Children will firstly clean up the immediate area of their own school grounds and then, the following day, join in a family-based campaign to clean up any area they wish for an hour, giving them a choice of cleaning up their own streets, parks and playgrounds - or anywhere else.

Beach Buddies will supply equipment for the day and local authorities are also being invited to give their support to the future programme which will continue until the end of the current school year, with plans to make this a bi-annual event across the island for all schools.

FIM Capital sponsors Beach Buddies.