The day was part of a four week alternate end of year program set up by the College to prepare Year 10 students for the future. The experience was eye opening for a lot of students as there was a lot of plastic waste and debris that had washed up on the shore. Students were surprised to see how much polystyrene there was and horrified to find out that it didn’t break down over time. Students were given an insight into the damage micro plastics could have on the marine environment and the overwhelming quantity of microplastic that was found on the shore. In total the boys pulled out 8 large bags of rubbish which was made up of pieces of polystyrene, chunks of foam mattresses, small microplastics, straws, plastic bottles, pieces of balloon, and flood debris such as pontoons, chairs and other floating objects.

Students felt a sense of pride in what they had achieved by the end of the day but also made stronger connections to their natural environment. The boys were very interested in learning about how our first nations peoples cared for country and how they used different plants for different purposes. They also learned how poor habits from our current society can affect the cycle of life that had been looked after for so long. Hopefully this connection will help them to tread lighter on our shared earth into the future.

A big thanks to Jono from Clean4shore for supporting the excursion and Juliana Dignam for organising the day.