Year 7s clean up Merri Creek

Year 7s Philanthropic project

For this year’s year 7 philanthropic project we based our effort around the problem of single use plastics and rubbish and how they end up in our environment. We conducted a litter audit along Merri Creek with 2 classes at a time covering a span of 200m along the banks. At the conclusion of the audit we collected enough rubbish to fill approximately 135 garbage bags with each group of two classes collecting on average 22 bags. The collections took place after the intense storm and flooding. The storm resulted in the washing up of hundreds of weird items such as; tents, a fire extinguisher, car seats, brooms, wallets, spray cans, golf balls road signs, a shovel and one class discovered a safe. From this experience students learnt firsthand that the rubbish that they carelessly litter can easily end up in the creek and adversely impact the wildlife that inhibit the surrounding environment. In addition the litter makes the environment less desirable to enjoy and use in our spare time. Students also learnt that simply picking up rubbish and helping the environment can make an impact.

By Miette Rolf and Amelie Sibillin