Students and staff at Lakeview School in Renmore recently partnered with Galway City Council to take part in a clean-up along the beautiful shoreline of Lough Atalia.
The idea for the clean-up originated when students noticed the considerable plastic pollution along the shoreline while on their daily walk.
They felt moved to find out more about the problem and figure out ways to protect their local environment.
Students developed a concept called ‘a pocketful of plastic’ meaning they would remove a small amount of plastic from the environment each day while on their walk.
Over the course of the school year, the pupils knew they could make a difference to their local area.
The idea culminated in a whole school clean-up of the local area and shoreline. Students were shocked to find an array of microplastics washed in by the tide.
They also found an abundance of wet wipes and hundreds of the plastic sticks which were once cotton buds.
Lakeview students believe that the people of Galway need to know that flushing these items down the toilet have a real impact on the local environment and wildlife.
Tiarnan McCusker, the Galway City environmental awareness officer, was on hand to offer guidance and support while also educating students about the problem of plastic pollution in the local environment.
“We were delighted to be asked into the School and help out with their new initiative ‘a pocketful of plastic,” he said.
“If everyone going to their local beach or coast could do just this then it would have a large impact on reducing litter and creating a better environment for all of the local Biodiversity.”
