White Shark Projects continues to raise ocean awareness by showing how some of our daily activities, although seemingly innocent, can have a negative impact on the ocean. White Shark Projects believe that environmental education is vital in aiding the conservation of our beautiful marine ecosystems. Through public outreach events such as school presentations, beach cleans and Recycle Swop Shop, we aim to give young people the skills and knowledge to help protect the ocean.

Last week, White Shark Projects held a beach clean-up with 40 children and 3 teachers all the way from Unicorn Preparatory School, Tzaneen. This is part of their annual Grade 7 Western Cape tour which is organized by Cape Africa Tours.

During the tour, the school group spend 4 nights in Hermanus and 3 nights in Cape Town, enjoying a range of educational and fun activities. This includes activities such as Table Mountain and Robben Island, as well as coastal clean-ups.

White Shark Projects hosted the school group with the aim to give the children knowledge to help protect the ocean and create a more sustainable future for them. White Shark Projects marine biologist, Tom Slough spoke to the children about the importance of sharks and conservation. Following this, they were given a talk on ocean pollution by guest speakers Michael and Marina from Ozeankind. They were taught about the dangers of plastic in the environment and how it is important to Reduce Reuse and Recycle plastic items where possible.

Following this, White Shark Projects, along with our volunteers, took the school group down to Danger Point, Gansbaai for a beach clean. The children were split into groups of 5 and given a survey to record every piece of litter found.

A whopping 3431 pieces of litter were found in just 1 hour! That’s roughly a staggering 57 items per minute. A total of 788 plastic pieces were found making it the top polluter during this beach clean. This was closely followed by a shocking 779 cigarette butts and 428 pieces of fishing line found.

The group that collected the most litter were rewarded with a White Shark Projects t-shirt as a souvenir to take home.

White Shark Projects will continue to use environmental education as a tool to change the next generation’s attitudes and give them the skills and knowledge to help create a more sustainable planet for them.

Thank you Unicorn Preparatory School and Cape Africa Tours for helping in the fight against ocean pollution!

We look forward to seeing you next year!

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Written by Georgina Vermeulen
Marine Biologist at White Shark Projects

Published 9th March 2020