Adopt an Eastbourne pebble

Fans of Eastbourne beaches are being given the chance to ‘Adopt-a-Pebble’ after large numbers of frightened and disorientated pebbles have been washed up in the stormy New Year weather.

Keen to rescue and re-home the stranded pebbles on the town’s Blue Flag beaches, visitors to Eastbourne are being invited to ‘Adopt-a-Pebble’ for free in exchange for regular newsletters, tales of the pebbles’ adventures, photos, certificate, desk calendar and special offers at the resort.

This year Eastbourne is boldly stating that it’s proud to be pebbly and is eager to get everyone involved in looking after its traditional pebbles which dominate the cover of the town’s 2008 Holiday Guide.

Eastbourne Borough Council Spokesperson for Tourism, Cllr Steve Wallis said “Everyday these pebbles are finding themselves on unfamiliar beaches and do not know where to turn for help. We aim to give them the support they need and encourage visitors to appreciate Eastbourne’s pebble beaches.

By registering support for FREE, people can learn more about the shingle way of life and find out about Eastbourne too. Hopefully some of these people may even come to Eastbourne in the future and visit the pebbles on our award-winning beaches themselves.”

There are already five pebbles that urgently need to be rescued and looked after and visitors keen to re-home these pebbles can choose which one they adopt.

There’s Foss, the oldest pebble looking for a new home, Skimmer, a watersports fanatic who causes a splash with the ladies on Eastbourne’s Blue Flag beaches, Nugget, the baby of the group, Bubbles, who enjoys seaweed wraps at the town’s beauty salons, and Pablo, the overseas student who’s come all the way from Italy.

With each pebble having its own unique personality, adopters will be able to select their pebble and fall in love with its quirky character.

During the year those who choose to ‘Adopt-a-Pebble’ will receive regular updates on the adopted pebbles’ progress, what they’ve been getting up to and their plans to attend major events in Eastbourne. Adopters will also receive exclusive special offers and hot tips on what to look out for over the coming season.

It is anticipated that in March, the sports enthusiast pebble will enjoy his first outing at the start line of the Eastbourne half-marathon where he’ll be cheering on the runners.

For those that love Eastbourne’s beaches and want to get involved in re-homing these stranded pebbles, adoption couldn’t be easier. Pebble and nature lovers can visit Adopt-a-pebble.co.uk to sign up to the scheme for free and look forward to receiving their first newsletter in March.

For more information visit Visiteastbourne.com.