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Cornwall's tourist hotspots using large QR codes for conservation donations

St Ives is one of the most popular tourist spots in Cornwall, which is using QR codes to raise donations - Jay Williams/COPYRIGHT JAY WILLIAMS
St Ives is one of the most popular tourist spots in Cornwall, which is using QR codes to raise donations - Jay Williams/COPYRIGHT JAY WILLIAMS

Cornwall’s beauty spots will start asking visitors for museum-style donations, as the county is braced for bumper numbers of tourists this summer.

Cornwall Council will this week start putting up large QR codes on message boards at beaches and along rambling trails for people to scan with their smartphones.

The codes will then open up donation pages for local organisations that look after the beauty spots or undertake conservation work across the county.

The scheme is being introduced as Cornwall is expected to see unprecedented levels of visitors this year with Covid-19 putting many holidaymakers off attempting to travel abroad.

The region, which has grown in popularity in recent years, already attracts about five million visitors a year, with around three million of those heading there in the summer. Cornwall’s tourism bosses have estimated that the figure will be at least 10 per cent higher this year.

Along with the economic boost the thronging crowds will bring, conservationists are also worried it will mean further damage to some of Cornwall’s most iconic and cherished landmarks.

In response, Cornwall Council is launching its #LoveWhereYouAre campaign with the donation and funding site Crowdfunder. By providing local groups with donation pages, it hopes to bolster the area's conservation efforts.

Among the sites to get QR codes are Lusty Glaze beach and Sennan Cove, Whitsand Bay, The Camel Trail at Padstow, The Lizard Peninsular, Praa Sands beach and Port Isaac.

QR codes, like the ones people have got used to seeing in the Covid era, will appear around Cornwall seeking donations - Chaay_Tee/ Chaay_Tee
QR codes, like the ones people have got used to seeing in the Covid era, will appear around Cornwall seeking donations - Chaay_Tee/ Chaay_Tee

Dawn Bebe, a co-founder of Crowdfunder, said the Cornwall-based company came up with the scheme as it wanted to find a way to allow visitors to contribute to the upkeep of beauty spots they enjoy and often have a deep affection for.

She said: “There will be beauty spots that will be busier than they have ever been and there is a legitimate concern among the local population that the pressure will be too much for certain beaches and greenfield sites.

“This will enable the people visiting these places to support them in a really nice way and to protect and preserve that environment.”

Martyn Alvey, the Cornwall Council cabinet member for the environment and climate change, added: “This fund is designed to collect donations from everyone that loves Cornwall and wants to make sure we are leading the way in the fight against climate change and the loss of biodiversity.”

As well as beauty spots, the QR codes will be popping up in local restaurants and pubs to allow tourists to donate to broader ecological and climate change projects in the county.

One such recipient will be Claire Wallerstein, a resident of Rame peninsula, who is crowd-funding a series of documentaries, called Cornwall’s Climate Stories, on how climate change is affecting the county and its wildlife.

Plastic on Cornwall's beaches

The 51-year-old said she was initially inspired to take action after seeing her children playing on increasingly plastic-infested beaches in the area. She has since started the Rame Peninsula Beach Care conservation group.

She hopes her documentaries, which are due to be shown in schools and at community viewings across the county, will move more people in Cornwall to become actively involved in conservation projects.

Commenting on the QR code scheme, Ms Wallerstein added: “It is giving people the chance to give something back and support environmental projects.

“Ones that could make a difference to preserve the beauty of the environment that they have all come to enjoy.”