YOUNG children can make a tremendous impact when it comes to environment conservation.
This was one of the key messages from Minister for Fisheries Semi Koroilavesau after a clean-up organised at Wailoaloa Beach in Nadi yesterday.
About 30 staff members from the ministry travelled from as far as Suva to help in the clean-up.
They were joined by members of the catamaran Race for Water Odyssey and various NGOs.
Mr Koroilavesau said over the past few years, the ministry had struggled to try and introduce the subject of plastic pollution to adults.
“We thought that teaching the small kids at school and letting them be the ambassadors would be more effective,” he said.
“We are trying to create public awareness to the adults, we put billboards on the dangers of plastic it’s not making the impact.
So we are thinking of introducing it in schools and this way, they can take the message to their families.”
According to Camille Rollin, the program act manager for the Race for Water Foundation, their mission was to preserve the ocean and fight against plastic pollution.
“For us, cleaning the ocean is impossible so we have to act on land and beach clean-up helps because it involves rubbish that won’t go into the ocean but it needs to be cleaned before,” she said.
Ms Rollin said they also used this opportunity to educate people on plastic pollution and to show members of the community that most of the rubbish they collect came from people themselves.
