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It was little gumboots on the ground when the children at Sandcastles Early Childhood Centre in Matakana went on a field trip to Omaha recently to help clean up the beach and boardwalks.
The kids had asked themselves how can we help our environment? And they answered by picking up enough rubbish to fill 10 paper grocery bags.
Sandcastles Matakana co-owner and teacher Kylie Steffener says the tamariki had come back from summer holidays having spent lots of time at the beach with a passion for the ocean.
“We started exploring kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection) and Riley Hathaway from Young Ocean Explorers did a presentation for the kids, which sparked a whole new interest about the impact of rubbish and plastic on sea life.
“Then we planned a field trip to go and see how much rubbish is actually on one of our local beaches,” she says.
The expedition wouldn’t have been possible without Mahu City Express owner Julian Ostling, who donated a bus to transport the 24 children plus parents and teachers to and from Omaha.
Once there, the group of tidy Kiwis spent a good couple of hours picking up rubbish.
“We found a whole lot around the playground, surf club and underneath the boardwalks. The beach itself was pretty clear, which was awesome for the children to see, because it meant there were other people playing their part.
“When we found pieces of plastic we’d ask the children what would happen if this made it into the ocean, and they said the dolphins or fish would eat it because they’d think it was a jellyfish. So it showed how important it was to put rubbish in the bin,” she says
The refuse they collected was then sorted into recyclables, compost and general rubbish.
“The kids were just so amazed at the amount of rubbish we found. Now we’re going to keep on with our sustainability journey and stay focused on recycling and composting here at Sandcastles,” Steffener says.
