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CCGS students threw on a pair of gloves and some boots on Sunday 6 March for Clean Up Australia Day.

Students teamed up with friends and family to clean up areas of the Central Coast, NSW. The annual cleanup event provided a timely reminder of the impact litter and debris have on our environment, particularly after the wet and wild weather NSW and QLD experienced recently.

From Kindergarten through to Year 12, students reported over 100 cleanup actions. A wide range of items were found from plastic bottles to straws and bags. There were also some more unusual items left discarded. Daniel, Year 10 found a tent lying in the sand dunes at his local beach and Emily, Year 8 found some discarded plastic flower pots.

Efforts are rewarded

The feeling of helping to clean up a local area cannot be beaten. "It felt good to be doing something so simple to help the planet," said Daniel. Emily added, "It felt rewarding making the beaches cleaner for everyone to enjoy and reducing the amount of plastic endangering sea and wildlife." For Knoa in Year 5, it was a chance to spend time with his family, "I felt happy because I got to spend time doing an activity with my family that was helping the planet." 

Each year Clean Up Day Australia Day volunteers remove the equivalent of 350,000 utes filled with rubbish. This rubbish can severely damage environments, pollute our waterways and endanger wildlife.

Simple actions we can all take

Taking steps every day to keep our beaches, waterways, and streets clean is important and is a message echoed by young people.

"I think people can help the planet by filling up a bag of rubbish every time they go to the beach or walk with their dog," Emily said. Knoa added, "I think everyone can help the earth. Try and set a goal to pick up just one piece of rubbish every day."

Daniel agreed, "People can just take their rubbish and put it in the bin." A simple action we can all do to help a global problem.

Thank you to all our Clean Up Australia Day volunteers and families.