Intermediate students at Burnaby’s École Westridge Elementary School got a hands-on lesson on how to care for the environment during the school’s first-ever shoreline cleanup at Barnet Marine Park.
Armed with garbage grabbers and buckets, about 65 Grade 5, 6 and 7 students combed the beach for bits of discarded plastic and other trash last Friday.
“Intermediate students are encouraged to think about more than just themselves and help out in the community and build up their leadership skills. We thought it would be a very good opportunity,” said organizer Audrey Venner, a Grade 6/7 French immersion teacher at the school. “In my classroom, I’m really pushing for them to think about the environment and the impact that you have when you consume and how you can help out on the other end, when you pick up garbage and all that in your community.”
The day started with students going on a treasure hunt to find things that belong in nature, like rocks, leaves and feathers, and things that don’t, like plastic.
Students then headed out to rid the shoreline of the latter.
The Bonsor Recreation Complex provide equipment for the cleanup.
