Adults should be ashamed of having kids come out and pick up after them.
This was the strong sentiment shared by International School Suva (ISS) oceans and literacy division member Laisenia Ratu, after a group of about 70 Year 2 students from ISS and Veiuto Primary School organised a clean-up around My Suva Picnic Park yesterday.
This was organised as part of World Environment Day and ahead of World Ocean Day on Thursday.
The children, under the supervision of their teachers, managed to collect over 10 trash bags filled with plastic, household waste, glass etcetera, which littered the area and found their way along the mangroves too.
Mr Ratu said the mind-set behind dumping rubbish in such a manner needed to end.
“We are out here with the children collecting rubbish mainly around the park that usually the public comes to and it is a shame,” he said.
“It is really sad that now our kids are coming to pick this for us. The only thing that is best for our nation is to be educated more about rubbish disposal.
“It is not just the small pieces of rubbish, but some people are coming with their household rubbish, throwing it on the beach and it’s a very sad thing to see.”
He said indiscriminate littering from adults would filter down to their children, because they learnt what the adults were doing, and this behaviour would, in turn, be passed down over the generations.
ISS primary ocean co-ordinator Hannah Nanovu said it was crucial to inculcate good habits such as care for the environment and correct methods of rubbish disposal from a young age.
“I think it’s crucial because this is their backyard, this is the future and so it’s really important that they’re taught young how to deal with trash, how to recycle and how to dispose of their rubbish correctly so it doesn’t have this impact,” she said.
Veiuto Primary School Year Two teacher Kiataniware Mollie also said it was a good chance for the children to see the impact littering had on the environment.
“When we were collecting the rubbish, the kids kept on asking why people were just throwing the rubbish and not putting it in the bins,” she said.
The clean-up is also part of a joint ongoing program between the two schools whereby children learn about the importance of the environment and ocean.
