Year 9 Program

Sea Shepherd Beach Clean Up

During term 1 the Year 9 program has provided us with many opportunities to find out and learn about lots of different charities around Australia. Some examples are the Cathy Freeman Foundation and other Indigenous foundations, RSPCA, St Vincent De Paul, Prahran Mission, Sacred Heart Mission and of course Sea Shepherd. This has opened our eyes to relevant issues in our community and what we can do to help.

On Tuesday 6th March, 9A, 9B and 9C headed out to St Kilda beach with Sea Shepherd to do a beach clean up.  When we got to the beach most of us were curious as it looked like there was hardly any rubbish.  Then the Sea Shepherds talked to us and said that it is the small pieces of rubbish that add up and that is what we should be looking for.  Turns out, when we went to clean up the beach there were heaps of small pieces of plastic, lots of cigarettes and small bits of glass.  When I heard that we were going on a beach clean up I was really annoyed because it was meant to be a hot day and I didn’t want to spend it doing hard work.  However, when we got down there it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be and it was a lovely way to spend my Tuesday afternoon out in the sun.

At the end we had to sort out all of the rubbish into different groups.  One pile that was quite big was the glass pile. This was surprising as there are signs on the beach that clearly state glass is not permitted. This shows that just because there are signs, it does not mean people will do the right thing. We can always do more to help prevent littering, as bits of glass can potentially be very dangerous. Another pile we sorted the rubbish into was cigarettes. In total we found 1200 of them in just a small section of the beach.

While cleaning up, a few of us were stopped by members of the public. We were told to “keep up the good work!” and that we were “doing a great job!” Even though the sun was beating down and it was a tiring task, these few words gave us the encouragement to keep on going. Having complete strangers come up to us and compliment our efforts, it gave us great feelings of accomplishment.

The organisation that provided this amazing opportunity for us, Sea Shepherd, does many other amazing things for the environment. They protect whales and reefs, they help prevent the extinction of sea creatures and they also stop the increase of debris in the ocean. They help to maintain our beautiful oceans and provide a voice for the voiceless. With organizations like Sea Shepherd around, sea creatures and their habitats are not going anywhere.  

To summarise, we had an enjoyable and fulfilling day down at St Kilda beach and we are very grateful to Sea Shepherd for organizing this day and for helping keep our oceans beautiful and clean.  

Carmelle Kent and Aimee Harris

Year 9