STUDENTS from the new St Ninian’s Lower School have teamed up with volunteer group Beach Buddies as part of an educational programme to study damage to the environment.
The group is now involved in regular monthly beach cleaning sessions all over the island – and finding out first-hand how much rubbish collects on Manx beaches and the damage it can cause to wildlife.
The students are currently studying a module in humanities concerning ‘Harming of the Environment’. The first part is ‘rubbish, pollutants and emissions’, which led the group to approach Beach Buddies with a request to join in beach cleaning sessions.
Beach Buddies’ founders Bill Dale and Sandy Huyton had already visited St Ninian’s Lower School to talk about their work and explain the damage that is caused to the environment, including wildlife, seabirds and marine life, by the rubbish which gathers on Manx beaches.
The group, under the supervision of teacher Dave Callaghan and fellow staff, have so far visited Groudle Glen beach and The Lhen and collected significant amounts of rubbish, much of which has been recycled at the civic amenity sites.
Dave said: ‘This has been a really worthwhile activity for the students. They didn’t really know what to expect, but we can see that they have enjoyed getting involved in a practical way, while at the same time learning about the damage that rubbish causes to the environment.
‘We will be joining Beach Buddies once a month through to the end of the summer term, helping the students to learn more about the world in which they live.
‘We have had a very positive response from the children who seem to have genuinely enjoyed getting involved in this way.’
Bill added: ‘The involvement of the St Ninian’s students is really significant because the young people of today are in a position to genuinely do something about the problem of litter, not just on beaches, but everywhere on the island.
‘Previous generations have failed to tackle this problem, and we are now left in a position when a huge majority of people between the age of 10 to 40 seem to have abandoned the idea of protecting the environment.
‘You only need to look at the rubbish at the sides of the roads to see that vast numbers of people simply throw their rubbish out of the car window, which is totally unacceptable.
‘The involvement of the students at St Ninian’s is exactly what this is all about. Beach Buddies is receiving more and more requests from schools, Scouts, Cubs, Guides, Brownies and youth clubs to join in beach cleaning, which is fantastic.
‘Hopefully, we will get the message across to our children at a young age and see some genuine change in the long term. How wonderful would it be for the people of the Isle of Man to be able to say that we have the cleanest beaches in Europe? I genuinely believe that with the help of young people like the St Ninian’s students this can be achieved.’
• Beach Buddies will visit any school in the island to talk about litter pollution on beaches and in glens and footpaths. Email {mailto:beachbuddies@manx.net|beachbuddies(at)manx.net} or go to the Facebook page Beach Buddies Isle of Man.