Community effort breathes new life into popular Stonehaven beach clean box
By Lauren Smith of Turning the Plastic Tide
The Take 4 for the Shore project continues to support everyday coastal stewardship, with 19 publicly accessible beach clean boxes available along the East Grampian coastline. These boxes provide free access to equipment, making it easy for anyone to carry out spontaneous beach cleans and help care for the local shoreline.
Two of the most well-used boxes are located at either end of Stonehaven promenade, where they are regularly used by residents and visitors. Recently, Councillor Sarah Dickinson was made aware that one of the Stonehaven boxes required maintenance. This work has now been very kindly carried out by members of the Stonehaven & District Men’s Shed, ensuring the box remains safe, functional and ready for continued public use.
The repair work was supported by a generous donation from Janice Langdon, owner of Molly’s Café Bar in Stonehaven. Known as Molly’s box because it was first located outside the premises where Molly’s team looked after it, it now sits a bit further along the promenade close to the Cowie River pedestrian bridge. However, Molly’s continues to ensure the box is in good order as the donation to these repairs shows. The second Stonehaven box is sponsored by Steve McQueen owner of Fountainhall Wines, and together both businesses play an important role in supporting local environmental action.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Molly’s and Fountainhall Wines for their business support, to the Stonehaven & District Men’s Shed for their practical help, and to the many volunteers who regularly use the equipment. Their combined efforts demonstrate the strength of community spirit in Stonehaven and the shared commitment to protecting the local coastline.
Originally launched in autumn 2020 by Turning the Plastic Tide (a flagship project run by the East Grampian Coastal Partnership), in partnership with the National Nature Reserves at Forvie and St Cyrus and in close cooperation with Aberdeenshire Council, Take 4 for the Shore was designed to remove barriers to participation in beach cleaning. Each box, built by Wood Recyclability in Pitmedden, is stocked with a full range of beach clean equipment and clear guidance to support safe and effective use.
For information on box locations, visit: https://www.egcp.scot/take4
Feature image: Left to Right Steve McQueen Fountainhall Wines with son Myles, Janice Langdon owner of Mollys Cafe Bar, George McKinnon member of the Stonehaven and District Mens Shed and Cllr Sarah Dickinson