There is a special event this coming weekend when Beach Buddies teams up with the Marine Conservation Society and the local branch of M&S for the annual Beach Clean, which is again being held at Castletown.

It starts at 10am on Sunday at Castletown Bay, meeting at the second car park after Hango Hill (see map for meeting point and car parking).

M&S have been good supporters of this event, and will again be bringing a good number of their staff to join in with volunteers. Last year we had large numbers of volunteers, but they were all fully occupied, as this is one of the beaches in the Isle of Man which is regularly filled with marine rubbish.

This year we will be trying something a bit different and trying to count every single item collected. Beach Buddies has been conducting its own surveys in the first few months of the year, and the sheer number of items collected has been a real eye-opener!

We will have a calculator with us on Sunday, and taking a guess beforehand as to how many items we will collect. The nearest guess wins a prize - not a great prize, but a prize!

See you all on Sunday! New volunteers particularly welcomed, and families especially. It's great fun, relaxed and protects wildlife - and you leave with a smile and a sense of achievement!

• Beach Buddies runs team beach cleaning sessions every weekend, usually on Sunday mornings, lasting a maximum of 90 minutes. All ages are welcome and the necessary equipment is provided by the charity, with all items removed by Beach Buddies, and recycled where possible. We are very grateful to the sponsors who make this possible. These include AFD Software, SITA, Offshore Public Relations, WDS Limited, Celton Manx, the Department of Infrastructure, The Scott Trust, Isle of Man Photos, The Elizabeth Clucas Trust, The Society for the Preservation of the Manx Countryside, Blythe Financial, Aston International, Charlie’s Mum and Dad, Zero Waste Mann, Ramsey Grammar School, Andy Kerruish, Lloyds Bank, Bobby Sadler Agricultural, Santander, Merrill Lynch, Douglas Rotary, Cains, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, Zurich, Shoprite and Juan Knight OffRoad.

• If your company would like to become part of this prestigious list please send an e-mail to find out about our sponsorship opportunities. Beach Buddies is a registered charity - No. 1158.

• Beach Buddies also runs corporate “team building days”, corporate barbecues (summer months), and hosts competitive corporate beach cleaning events.

• To register for e-mail updates on Beach Buddies or to find out about sponsorship or team building events please send a message to beachbuddies@manx.net or phone 496560.