Youngsters from across South Ayrshire had fun in the sun recently as they headed to the beach to celebrate the Year of Young People 2018.  

The council worked with the South Ayrshire Youth Forum, South Ayrshire Young Scot and Girvan Youth Trust to organise ‘Beach Days’ in Troon, Ayr and Girvan.  

The outings were a great success with over 300 children, young people and families participating in a range of fun activities, including volley ball, archery, football, hand ball, music and dancing.  

The beach days were also an opportunity for the Youth Forum to highlight the issue of littering. Rubbish left on our beaches is unsightly and can be a danger to people, pets and wildlife, so the young people encouraged other beach users to use the bins provided or take their rubbish away with them.  

Councillor William Grant, Youth Champion for South Ayrshire Council, said: “The beach days were a great idea for everybody to have fun and try new activities but I’m so pleased young people are also doing their bit to tackle the scourge of littering.  

“It’s inspirational when we can work with enthusiastic young people to help get our messages across. I’m sure young people in South Ayrshire will continue to do us proud over the coming months as we celebrate their aspirations and achievements during YOYP 2018.”  

Jessica Hartshorn Chair of the Youth Forum added: “Young people continue to raise litter as an issue in South Ayrshire, but to solve littering there has to be a change of mindset. The Youth Forum has been working on some creative ways to encourage people to use bins such as rewarding young people who have disposed of their litter correctly.”  

For more information on Year of Young People events please visit https://young.scot/local-authorities/south-ayrshire. 

You can also contact the council's community Learning and Development Team by phoning the council on 0300 1230900.