This Is Guernsey

By Cheryl Latter

THIS year Herm will once more represent the Bailiwick of Guernsey in Britain in Bloom, and this month our campaign has begun in earnest.

With a permanent population of 50 we more than qualify for the ‘coastal resort with a population of fewer than 12,000’ category.

As there will be an initial visit from judges within the next few weeks, we are all working hard to make sure the island is looking its best.

The whole community takes a part in this and everyone is volunteering to take on extra little jobs that will make a big difference, such as collecting rubbish from the beaches, watering plants or just taking photographs of the work that is being done.

‘We are all proud of the island, or we wouldn’t even be here,’ said head gardener Brett Moore. ‘So it’s nice for everyone to take an interest and to do a little bit to make it the kind of place they want to live in.’

Visitors are being urged to help by not dropping rubbish or cigarette ends and everyone is encouraged to recycle. We hope our friends in Guernsey will join us in being proud of Herm and keeping it a beautiful place to visit.

Anyone who would like to take part in the campaign is welcome to contribute time or ideas.

We have won this prize for Guernsey in the past and there is no reason why we shouldn’t win it again.

Part of the work volunteers will do is ‘wombling’ – combing the beaches for rubbish and washed-up debris. Although this is something we all do year-round, every now and then we make a conscious effort to do a real clean-up.

Each year Herm takes part in the Marine Conservation Society’s annual Beachwatch campaign. The results from September have just been published.

The most common items to be collected nationwide were small pieces of plastic, which accounted for more than half of the litter found.

Of all Herm’s beaches the largest quantity of rubbish was found on Fisherman’s on the west coast. Self-catering guests Jonathon and Shirley Hancock collected over 4kg and it was found that around two thirds of this had come from beach users. Mr and Mrs Hancock claim that they had found four times as much in 2006, so it is apparent that people are taking more care. The cleanest beach was Belvoir Bay, which is also one of the most popular.