Our group activities were once again restricted during February due to the lockdown and ever increasing cases, but we did manage on a few occasions (when the weather permitted) to do solo litter picking. The approach road was cleaned as far as Sonairte, the village itself was cleaned and of course the beach!
While litter picking we were delighted to come across some painted rocks which had been hidden about the place. We discovered that this very popular activity had been started by a group called East Coast Rocks……here is their story…
This group was set up in April 2020, during lockdown, to encourage people to try something new! The activity involves rock painting and hiding in Mornington, Bettystown, Laytown and the surrounding towns and villages on the East Coast. We hoped that finding a painted rock might brighten the day of the finder!
The idea is to paint rocks and hide them while out enjoying the local area. When a stranger finds your rock, they can either keep it or re-hide it….. maybe even start painting and hiding rocks themselves! The feedback we are getting from parents is very positive, the children (and adults!) have great fun searching and the smiles on the childrens’ faces when they find a rock are priceless! Some parents have even contacted the group to say that looking for rocks is great encouragement to get usually reluctant walkers out in all weathers.
Our group (East Coast Rocks) can be found on Facebook. If you’d like to join you are more than welcome!
When you have painted a rock, take a picture and upload with a hint about where you have hidden it (if you want to). When you find a rock, post a picture to the group if you wish. The person who has hidden it will see that their rock has brought some happiness to the finder!
Here are some examples of what you can find!
Rachel Wilde painted stones 
Rybarova Zaneta painted stones Louise Murray painted stones Grace Clarke painted stones
Hopefully the rocks will travel to other counties or even other countries!
We all need a little positivity at the moment and that’s our aim!
The group have a competition for children running at the moment to win some rock painting books, paint pens and nice smooth homemade rocks, details can be found in the group. Some considerations…
Please do not decorate your rocks with anything plastic as this is dangerous for animals. No googley eyes or jewels… We must respect our beaches and environment and protect our wildlife.
Be cautious and hide rocks in safe places. Children will find them and reach for them, keep this in mind and only hide in safe and accessible places. Also, hide in places where doggies won’t pee on them
Paint rocks with acrylic paint or acrylic paint markers (posca pens are awesome) and seal with clear yacht varnish or clear spray varnish to ensure the rocks are waterproof and keep their colour when left outdoors. I hope you’ll join in and have some fun .