Pupils clean up beach

As a follow-up to a recent experience as marine biologists on the shores of Ġnejna Bay and in the laboratories at the Institute of Environmental Science, a young group of six-year-olds from San Anton Junior School descended on White Tower Bay in Mellieħa along with their peers, teachers and a group of divers, this time armed with rubber gloves and garbage bags.

Their aim was to pick up as much rubbish that accumulates on the beach as possible. This rubbish is the consequence of careless disposal of garbage, helped by strong winds and storms which blow away the garbage, dropping it all over the island and the surrounding sea.

Meanwhile, a group of divers conducted an underwater clean-up. This was done so that the children would also be able to experience first-hand the amount of rubbish that accumulates underwater.

Groups made up of four children, accompanied by their teachers and members of the local diving community, as well as two leading Scuba schools, picked up every last bit of waste on the beach.

In all they collected some 200 bottle tops, over 50 oil cans and various bits and pieces from broken boat parts, fish farm debris, a scooter and some shoes.

It didn't take long to spot the rusty, old public bench mangled on the rocks, but it did take some brawn from two of the divers to carry it to the waiting skip kindly donated for the occasion by the management of a local skip company.

Excitement ran high as the youngsters found broken glass shards, bottles and rusty tins, which they were not allowed to handle themselves.

So one could hear the constant shouting for adults to go and pick up any items classified as dangerous. The children stood on guard over their discovery until the group leader picked up the offensive item and disposed of it properly. Over 100 bits of broken glass were picked up as well as 90 rusty cans. Since most of the cans were beer cans, the youngsters came to the conclusion that grown-ups are a bigger cause of debris than children. One of the children also commented that "when we children throw things on the ground it's the grown-ups' fault for not telling us to put rubbish in the bin."

Another student commented on the amount of plastic on the beach, worried that the wind would blow the plastic bags in the sea and endanger turtles.

In just over an hour, the bay was looking beautiful and the skip was close to overflowing.

Some of the divers who had been in the sea all this time, picking up rubbish from the seabed, were now on their way out with sacks full of wet debris.

The youngsters gathered close to the shore to observe the divers and all the stuff they had collected. They all wanted to lend a hand as car batteries and plenty of oil cans were brought to shore.

The little hands helped to carry the aberrant material to the skip while the adults handled the heavier items.

With smiling and satisfied faces, the children then sat in the sun to enjoy a well-deserved healthy picnic snack and a cold drink, happy in the knowledge that they had done a fabulous job and truly deserved the title of "heroes of the underwater world". This title was bestowed upon them by the activity's sponsor Padi Project Aware Kids that gave the children certificates, badges and a colourful project book presented to them by Rita Vella who helped coordinate the activity.

One of the youngsters summed the event up with his comment: "If the fish come to our bays and find them dirty they would go away and we would be left with empty seas."

Little does this young student realise how true this is as pollution helps diminish the fish stocks around our islands.

Anna Degiorgio, a Grade 3 class teacher and the organiser of the event, commented: "The children's safety was my biggest concern, and had I not found the help of my friends and fellow divers, together with my colleagues from school, I would not have organised this activity."

The producer of a popular local documentary programme was also present to film the activity. He commented that the initiative was a worthy one which should be taken up by more schools to help educate the future generations on the crucial responsibility of proper waste management.