TWO Year 9 Woodleigh students are holding a photo exhibition to raise awareness about beach pollution and what the community can do to help.
Xavier Goldfinch and Oscar McKeown have spent months taking photos for ‘Washed Up’, which will be exhibited at The Nook in Mornington on 21 September.
The exhibition was part of their Middle Years Program community project, which requires students to identify an issue, investigate it, and take meaningful action.
“So, we decided to focus our project on beach cleaning, and just like all the rubbish that appears on our beaches,” said Goldfinch.
“We both live on the peninsula, near the coast, and we just figure it’s important to make sure people can enjoy our beaches.”
They said their project aims to raise awareness and get people thinking about how everyday actions can affect the coastline.
“The whole point of the project is you go ask a community what they need from you and how you can help,” said Goldfinch.
He said they reached out to Beach Patrol, a volunteer group that meets each month to clean up local beaches.
“I had an interview with the Beach Patrol lady from Mornington, and we asked how we can help, and they said just showing people that there’s rubbish on the beaches,” said Goldfinch.
Goldfinch said Beach Patrol alerted them to not only the amount of beach pollution, but also how important it is to record what is being found.
“Most of the rubbish that does get picked up on beaches is just from regular people walking around and picking up a random piece of rubbish and putting it in the bin,” said Goldfinch.
“But because that data doesn’t get recorded, the actual organisations can’t identify the scale of the problem and can’t advocate for change as strongly.”
Goldfinch said Beach Patrol alerted them to Litter Stopper.
“It is this app they use to collect all the rubbish data,” said Goldfinch.
“Recording the rubbish helps Beach Patrol and the local council to build a clearer picture of what types of pollution are turning up, where it is occurring and how the problem changes over time.”
McKeown said they both enjoy and are good at photography, so they decided to use their skills to showcase the litter on the beaches.
“We had a day where we went to Fisherman’s Beach, Mills Beach and Canadian Bay,” said McKeown.
“And we took our own photos of the rubbish, picked it up, logged it, and wrote all the data down that we could find.”
They have taken 41 photos between them, which will be on display. The exhibition is free to attend and will be held between 10am and 2pm at The Nook in Mornington on 21 September.
“Anyone is welcome to come in, learn more and discover simple ways they can make a difference,” said Goldfinch.
First published in the Mornington News – 15 September 2026
