ThelifeInstagram influencer Alexandra Milam has apologized after graffiting her Instagram handle on a UNESCO World Heritage site.- Milam's handle was spotted among hundreds of tags left on the ancient chalk cliffs of Durdle Door in Dorset,
England . - Volunteer Anna Lois Taylor, who posted a picture of the
graffiti on Instagram, told Insider she was shocked that someone would leave their handle on the cliffs. - The Lulworth Rangers, which manage the conservation of Durdle Door, spent more than two hours removing hundreds of graffiti tags from the site.
An Instagram influencer has apologized after it was revealed that she graffitied her Instagram handle on a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Alexandra Milam's handle was spotted among hundreds of tags on Durdle Door. The ancient chalk cliffs, located in Dorset, England, are part of the 185-million-year-old Jurassic Coast that lies along the English Channel.
Volunteer Anna Lois Taylor was cleaning graffiti and picking up litter at the site this week when she spotted Milam's handle.
"I was shocked," Taylor told Insider. "I couldn't comprehend why someone would even think to do that. I did think it was rather silly to leave your Instagram handle on the cliff identifying yourself as someone who vandalizes a UNESCO World Heritage site."
"To me, gaining followers is not worth vandalizing beautiful places for," she added.
Milam — who has around 12,400 followers at the time of publication, and has since made her Instagram account private — posted several Instagram photos of herself at the famous cliffs last week, posing in a variety of different swimsuits.
But after Taylor posted a picture of the graffiti on Instagram, Milam, 24, apologized for writing her handle on the famous site.
"I feel awful because of this horrific event in my life and I wish to express my deep regret for the damage by my name written on the Jurassic Coast," she told the Dorset Echo's Josie Klein. "I have learned a huge lesson, one which will forever mark me."
Milam said she has since reached out to the volunteers so she could "meet all the people who sacrificed their precious time to fix this disaster."
"I want to spread the awareness to everyone who doesn't understand the beauty and importance of this place," she told the Echo. "I am disappointed that I didn't understand it at the time and I don't want anyone else making the same mistake."
The influencer said she has also set up a monthly installment of £30 ($39.26) to a fundraising campaign that supports the charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which was organized by Durdle Door volunteer Erin Tyrrell.
Milam does not appear to have addressed the controversy on her Instagram page.
The Lulworth Rangers, which manage the conservation of Durdle Door, recently spent more than two hours removing hundreds of graffiti tags from the site in the middle of a heatwave.
"I personally cleared away about 100 tags," education ranger Derry Billings told Insider. "This was sad to see as, in late June, I took five volunteers from a local climbing group down and we cleared away over twice the amount."
Billings said the rangers also removed over 200 bags of litter and belongings that had been left behind — including a $500 10-person tent — over the weekend.
"Myself and a colleague spent three sweat-soaked hours bagging up rubbish that had been left at the bottom of the steps at Durdle Door beach," he added. "Not an hour later, when I went back down with a team of volunteers, the pile had reemerged as big as before."
Taylor said Durdle Door currently "looks like a dump and smells like a sewer" due to the recent influx of tourists.
"Many have left graffiti, not just the lady who left her Instagram tag," she told Insider. "It's time-consuming and an extra thing we have to do, along with clearing the site of litter."
While the volunteers and Lulworth Rangers have been working hard to conserve the natural site, Taylor said they're "suffering physically and mentally trying to keep up" with what the tourists leave behind.
"Volunteers are working tirelessly to protect the Jurassic Coast and keep it free from litter pollution," she added. "I live in Dorset and am very passionate about where I live. I want to do all I can to protect it and educate people so that it's still around for future generations."
Alexandra Milam did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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