Students from Brisbane Waters Secondary College ‘Support Unit’, headed out with local oyster growner, Simon Funnel and Brisbane Waters Foreshore Clean Up Program coordinator Graham Johnston, to clean up an area of waterway between Woy Woy Bridge to Koolewong Station & Saratoga Island.
The task for the day was to remove litter and oyster products from the foreshores of Brisbane Waters, adjacent to Brisbane Water Drive from the Woy Woy Bridge to Koolewong Station and to clean Saratoga Island and the Mangroves to the south.
The students made up a very keen group who, all in protective wetsuits and spray jackets, boarded the oyster barge and IRB for the trip to the mangroves beside the main road. From the Woy Woy Bridge, litter and oyster product immediately appeared. Plastic bottles and bags were gathered by the students, many with restrictive disabilities.
The incoming high tide allowed the barge to easily access the mangroves and foreshore and 35 bags in total were filled with small items, 34 pieces of oyster foam was also retrieved. The Mangroves to the east of Saratoga Island also presented plenty of small litter and oyster product. Only 200 metres was cleaned, as time ran out for the students, and the barge was near full. 13 large oyster trays were gathered, with an old Saratoga Sailing Club sign pulled from the water.
Gosford Council contractors removed all of the litter to Woy Woy tip, and with the day’s total of 640kg removed, the total weight out of Brisbane Water in the last 12 months is now at 19.4 tonnes.
Check out the program’s Facebook page at Clean4shore.
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