Volunteers were hard at work restoring the beautiful North Shore Beach. Photo: Supplied.
Cooktown State School students are learning about all things marine debris after one tonne of rubbish was collected at the annual Gamaay North Shore Beach clean-up on 12 October.
Sixty volunteers from the eastern Cape York township came together to free the beachfront of waste that had washed up over the past year, which was then taken to the school for a hands-on education experience.
With the help of South Cape York Catchment’s youth engagement officer Kyle Sanderson, the students are now sorting and counting individual pieces to record in a marine debris database.
“When you’re pouring out big piles, and seeing how much was collected in just a few hours, I think it hits home pretty hard for the kids,” Mr Sanderson said.
“I think it’s really important to put them in that role of citizen scientists by having them do the counting, and that will be used to get a better understanding of the different types of things that are ending up in our marine environment.
“If there are any repeat offenders that have barcodes or branding, we can use the data to approach organisations, and come up with ways to help stop that item from continuing to turn up on our beaches.”
As expected, plastic bottles and caps, rubber thongs and remnants of commercial fishing gear were the top culprits.
Surprisingly, volunteers collected an entire hot water system during the clean-up this year, which may have washed out into the ocean through river systems during the Tropical Cyclone Jasper flood.
With about 680 kilograms of marine debris collected at last year’s event, Mr Sanderson said the flooding in December 2023 may have contributed to the increase in beachfront litter.
After his first year of taking leadership of the clean-up event, the youth engagement officer said he was moved by the contributions of the community.
“It’s an amazing effort; I knew from the previous beach clean-ups, how much can happen in such a short time, but it was just unbelievable,” he said.
“We’re just thankful for everyone that was involved, this event doesn’t happen without our sponsors and volunteers.”
The rubbish collected was taken to Cooktown State School for sorting and counting. Photo: Supplied.
