Actor Lincoln Lewis gave a movie star touch to the launch of the Wave of Change program on Tuesday at Sunshine Beach State High School aimed at educating primary and secondary students on the importance of recycling and keeping plastics out of the ocean.
Containers for Change spokesman Adam Nicholson said Sunshine Beach SHS was one of 50 Queensland schools to be given free access to world class educational resources thanks to a partnership between the state’s container refund scheme, Containers for Change, and environmental global foundation Plastic Oceans Australasia.
Lincoln Lewis told students he had grown up around beaches all his life and hoped as ambassador of the program to engage schools so that future generations would be able to grow up with the kind of beautiful environment he’d been able to grow up with.
He said how impressed he with with the environmental actions of morning beach walkers when the group hit the beach to shoot some film. We placed empty plastic bottles on the beach as part of the shoot but within a few minutes people walking past were picking them up, he said.
Sunshine Beach students are already familiar with the benefits of keeping the environment clean and recycling plastics.
Student Adara Curry said her involvement in turtle care had given her an insight into the impacts of plastic on marine life. “It’s so sad when you see turtles that have taken plastics that should have been recycled,” she said. “It’s good to make people realise what plastics do and make people recycle to make the environment nice.”
Year 12 student Zoe Gralton has become an eco-warrior at the school, instrumental in raising awareness of environmental issues.
Having grown up in an environmentally aware home Zoe began from Year 9 identifying issues and working to make changes including the introduction of environmentally degradable packaging at the school canteen.
“When you know about an issue, it’s hard to ignore it,” she said.
Student Ockert Visser said the Containers for Change (C4C) program had been working well at the school as students learnt more about the environment and the importance of recycling.
C4C has become easier for students since the P&C unveiled a custom-made trailer earlier this month.
The grant-funded trailer allows eligible containers to be collected at the school and also at events with the money raised to be used for other environmental and student well-being initiatives at the school.
