Pupils tackle beach pollution for World Environment Day

Pupils from the Dr GJ. Joubert Primary School in Strand earlier this week embarked on a clean-up mission at Strand beach for World Environment Day on Thursday June 5.

Lisa Starr, founder of The Helderberg Ocean Awareness Movement (HOAM), organiser of these beach clean-ups and educational sessions, said the group of pupils collected nine bags of litter in an hour. It’s the school’s third clean-up at the beach.

Ms Starr said the most concerning item among those picked up was the large amount of lollipop sticks.

“They were really shocked and saddened at the large amount of lollipop sticks that they retrieved. The public must know how important it is to ensure that even though the sticks are small, they are disposed of in bins, otherwise they come down the stormwater into the ocean and then break down into microplastics which are extremely detrimental to all marine life and humans (which are eventually inhaled by us in the wind),” she said.

Ms Starr called on people to pay attention to the impact of their actions.

“We are nature, and we have to live in sync and harmony. After all it’s what keeps the ecosystem and earth in balance. World Environment Day is every day for me. We are all part of the environment. Every single action we take can affect the environment negatively or positively. So, choose what footprints you want to leave in your home,” she said.

Terence Agulhas, natural sciences educator at Dr GJ Joubert Primary School, said it’s important for the school to take part in initiatives like these because pupils get to see the impact that dumping has on the environment.

“Activities like these are important and serve as an eye-opener to our children to see how the rubbish they so easily discard ends up in our oceans and the impact it has on sea life and the environment. They need to be informed and made aware of how everyday waste ends up in our oceans in the hope that they will make a conscious decision in disposing of their rubbish in the future,” he said.

He encouraged pupils to preserve the environment, leaving it in a better state for future generations.

“The important thing to remember is that when we die, our children and their children will be left behind; so our goal must be to leave the environment in a better condition than what we found it in.”

Councillor Carl Punt, ward councillor for ward 83, where Strand beach is located, said keeping the environment clean starts with practical steps. “Environmental pollution can be stopped and it starts with each individual. Stop littering, report unlawful dumping and get involved with an organisation focused on protecting the environment and start launching cleaning-up projects.”