Our East Coast Educational Road Show was a huge success. Over 18 days, our team of five (plus our trash dog, Keno) travelled along NZ’s stunning East Coast between Hick’s Bay in the north and Wairoa in the south, talking with schools and coordinating coastal clean-ups along the way. In all, we managed to talk with more than 4,000 students from 31 schools about the impacts of litter in the marine environment, coordinate 11 clean-up events with around 1,000 people, and remove over 3.25 tonnes of rubbish from East Coast beaches.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped us out along the way, without your support we simply could not have achieved what we did. Special thanks to KEA Campers, Benefitz and Kwik-N-Ezy for your generous support, and to our volunteers Mitzi, Camille and Caroline for your tireless hard work. See above for photos and detailed results from the project. The trip was such a success that we will be repeating a similar project in a different region of New Zealand in the winter of 2012.
Educational Road Show
On the back of our most successful New Zealand clean-up to date, we are returning to Te Tairãwhiti / East Coast with an educational road show encouraging the protection of our coasts and oceans.
Thanks to a fantastic effort from dedicated communities all along the East Coast, our last visit to the East Coast resulted in our biggest ever haul of rubbish from the coast in New Zealand: over 12 tonnes in one day.
Hundreds of local families joined us 18 months ago and we are now inviting schools all around the region for free educational presentations and clean-up events during August, during which we will present a short film shot during the colossal event in 2010.
The road show will cover almost exactly the same area as the clean-up: from Hicks Bay to Wairoa. It is designed to educate students and communities about the challenges of marine debris, celebrate the achievement of 2010 and motivate ongoing action to look after our coast.
“We are teaching children the importance of protecting our coastlines and providing them with a fun solution. By becoming kaitiaki (guardians), they can take ownership of their coastline, protect this resource for future generations and take pride in the process,” says Event Manager Mitzi Borren.
This trip — in which we plan to visit rural schools as well as larger Gisborne-based ones — will extend on the educational presentations we have already delivered to over 15,500 school students across the country.
“We are lucky to have the support of KEA Campers for this trip” says Borren, “which will allow our team to reach the most remote and isolated of communities along this amazing stretch of coast.”
After such an enthusiastic reception in 2010, we are looking forward to working again with the people of Te Tairãwhiti/East Coast to keep our unique coastline beautiful.
Sustainable Coastlines Co-founder Sam Judd says: “we can’t wait to get back to the East Coast. It is certainly one of the nicest areas in Aotearoa and we are very much looking forward to working with the people in this area again.”
Event Schedule
8 – 12 August – East Cape (Hicks Bay – Tolaga Bay)
15 – 26 August – Gisborne, Mahia and Wairoa
20 August – Gisborne Coastal Clean-up – See Facebook event here
Local schools and community groups are invited to register their interest by contacting Mitzi Borren by emailing [email protected] or calling 021 191 2111.
