THE 1ST TOOTGAROOK scouts group used Clean Up Australia Day to spread the message on reducing beach litter – and in the process won a photo competition beating scouts from all over Australia.
The 24 children in the group cleaned one kilometre of foreshore over three hours, collecting 32kg of rubbish. They chose 555 pieces to create a colourful map of Australia which won them a digital camera.
Joey scout leader Noel Bangs received an email from Clean Up Australia praised the photograph for its “presentation of the wide range of items collected, and the creativity and effort involved”.
The competition highlighted the impact of plastic waste on wildlife and how young people can make a difference by cleaning it up.
Youth Clean Up Day 2018 aimed to draw attention to the problem and discover how many small pieces of mainly plastic rubbish can be prevented from degrading the environment.
Scouts’ environmental coordinator Josie Jones said Tootgarook scouts and cubs had been a big help in cleaning up the Woolworths car park and the surrounding block.
“We have progressed greatly with Woolworths introducing two internal recycle bins and the shire approving a trial recycle bin and education campaign,” Ms Jones said.
“I met with them today as I wanted to ensure we really made a statement with our map of Australia.”
Ms Jones saved all the items from the map so that it could be rebuilt later to educate other children.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 27 March 2018
