LEARNING ACTIVITY
Caring for our coasts: beach clean-up
Climate Region: Arid | Temperate | Tropical
State or Territory: ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA
Age Range: 13-18

STORY

The school community was buzzing with excitement following Mick’s visit. Everyone was shocked and amazed at the amount of rubbish Mick has collected over the years during his Coastcare clean-ups. The visit was such a success that Amir’s school principal has decided to run a school wide Beach clean-up day during Coastcare Week.

The school principal decided to run a competition between the year groups to get the students and the teachers excited about participating. It would mean that more rubbish can be picked up, more awareness will be raised about the types of rubbish that end up in our oceans, and as a community everyone can discuss the animals and plants impacted by the rubbish in the environment.

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

Pollution and rubbish get washed into our rivers and waterways with stormwater runoff and end up on our coasts and oceans. Over 75% of this rubbish is plastic. Plastics in the environment can take hundreds of years to break down, thereby impacting marine species for generations.

This learning activity is the second part of a sequence of 2 individual learning activities focused on caring for our coasts. The order of these learning activities are: beach survey and beach clean-up.

Outcomes

For children to:

  • learn how micro plastics end up in our waters
  • explore the impacts of microplastics on coastal environments
  • understand how to organise an event and the importance of volunteering to help the environment
  • appreciate that what happens on land can impact our rivers and ocean.
SEASONAL NOTES

This activity can be undertaken at any time of year. Conduct the beach clean-up at low tide. Don’t conduct the beach clean-up during stormy weather or rough seas.

Did you know?

Up to 40,000 pieces of plastic are estimated to float in every square kilometre of ocean. 

Did you know?

800 species worldwide are impacted by marine debris.

Did you know?

In Australia over 70 plant and animal species are impacted by marine debris. 

Did you know?

Microplastics are divided into two types. Primary microplastics include microbeads, plastic pellets and plastic fibres. Secondary microplastics are the broken down parts or larger plastics.

We value your feedback

When you have finished this learning activity, please tell us what you think with our survey.
Your feedback will help Landcare Australia improve the activities in the Junior Landcare Learning Centre.

Why not try one of our other Junior Landcare learning activities?

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