November is the start of the nesting season for marine turtles when species, such as the endangered loggerhead turtle and vulnerable green turtle, come ashore to lay their eggs on Sunshine Coast beaches.
To help get our local beaches ready for their arrival, Sunshine Coast teachers are encouraged to book their classes now so they can join the Schools Beach Clean Up Super Series from 17 October to 4 November.
At the half-day program, students will participate in cleaning up their local beach, learning about coastal processes and generating ideas to reduce waste at the source.
Environment and Liveability Portfolio Councillor Peter Cox encouraged schools to sign up for a rewarding and enriching end-of-year experience.
“Each year, hundreds of Sunshine Coast students step up to clean up the sand and dunes for the nesting turtles,” Cr Cox said.
“Last year, over six weeks 686 students, parents and teachers from 10 schools removed almost 100 kgs of rubbish from 14 beaches across the Sunshine Coast.
“We are very grateful for their help and feedback from teachers is that it’s an impactful way to learn about ways we can all change our behaviour to create a more sustainable future.”
The super series runs from 9am – 12.30pm and includes:
– Stage 1: Beach clean-up from 9–10.30am at a local beach. Council will provide all safety equipment, all sorting and data collection equipment and all Covid-19 safety requirements. The beach clean-up will take 1.5 hours and will include information about the issue of marine debris, a safety talk and beach clean-up.
Then it’s back to the school for morning tea and Stage 2 of the super series.
– Stage 2: Coastal Discovery Van from 11am–noon at their school. Two beach clean-up team members will meet back at the registered school after the beach clean up to help students sort and record marine debris into the Australian Marine Debris Initiative database developed by Tangaroa Blue. Students will also explore the power of waves and discover amazing information and fun facts about our local coastal processes and the flora and fauna that call our beaches home.
– Stage 3: Source reduction workshop from 12–12.30pm at their school. This is the final leg of the super series and one of the most intense as we join forces for a 20-minute workshop.
This is a chance for students to reflect on the data collected, and the information they’ve discovered and generate a discussion around source reduction actions and possible solutions to some of our local challenges identified through the super series.
There are limited spaces as only one school can be allocated to each day.
Schools can register via the online form at forms.microsoft.com/r/YBdf5hpGJZ before Wednesday 12 October.
