Just recently a group of Snowy River Campus students set out on an overnight expedition. We were each given leadership roles in the group and mine was environmental caretaker. This involved picking up any rubbish we found on the way and leaving no trace at our campsite. I was expecting to find a usual amount of rubbish, but not as much as we did!
An astonishing fact that we found out is used plastic dumped in the sea kills and destroys sea life at an estimated 1,000,000 sea creatures per year. I’m really passionate about the environment so I was really eager to take on my role as environmental caretaker and get everyone involved in picking up rubbish as much as possible.
We took with us on the hike two big bags to put rubbish in and in the end we had to resort to stashing the rubbish in our bags – there was that much! Within the 7km of walking we did on the beach we found: 44 foam trays, 12 plastic bottles, 18 light bulbs and 20 glass bottles.
Among that we found lots of little bits and pieces of rubbish also. As a group we agreed that we were disgusted with the way people just throw down their rubbish. It is doing a lot of damage to our precious coastal park and endangering our protected wildlife. Wherever you are there is usually a bin in view – so if you see one please place your rubbish in there. If you are unable to access a bin, hold on to the rubbish. It may be annoying to have to carry it but the feeling that you are contributing to the environment is a good one, the whales will thank you! The same should go when camping, the way you find the sight is the way you should leave it. Take away with you any rubbish that you have brought in and even other peoples rubbish. Leaving minimal impact is vital so this beautiful earth of ours is kept healthy.
By Millie Christopher
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