On Monday the 18th March the Year 11 and 12 Geography classes went on a field trip to Anderson’s Bay Inlet, Ravensbourne, Aramoana and Blackhead to research plastics and the extent to which waste was ending up on our beaches.

The plan was to measure 200m along each beach and look carefully for any rubbish that was there. We had specific categories for the waste collected. Anderson’s Bay inlet was by far the worst with over 1000 pieces of rubbish jammed into the rocks and vegetation. The students were shocked by this. Ravensbourne was also covered in big pieces of sheet plastic. Aramoana was next on the trip and thankfully there was very little rubbish along the beach. Blackhead was also pretty bad with over 100 pieces of waste. The students are using their data to complete a 5 credit research assignment on what is the most common form of rubbish found on Otago’s coastline. With over 1400 pieces of rubbish found the message is dispose of your waste properly! Overall the students found this an eye opening experience and the trip has changed some of the student’s viewpoints about what is clean and green and what is not.