On Thursday, 02 March 2017, a few of the Lower Breede River Conservancy Trust (LBRCT) staff members did an environmental education session with the Grade 6 pupils at Slangrivier PS, about marine debris and the effects it has on our marine life and its surroundings.
Eyes got big and mouths were opened wide when they heard about the number of years it takes different types of litter to degrade. Why sea animals eat the debris were also discussed. This was shown during a PowerPoint presentation, where after two games were played to illustrate that hungry animals eat plastic because they think that it is jellyfish, or other edible creatures and the dangers of human actions on the survival rate of penguin eggs. They had lots of fun and were so excited because they learned so much.
They now know that the following items are biodegradable at the following rates:
Paper towel- 2-4 weeks
Newspaper – 6 weeks
Cardboard box- 2 months
Plastic beverage holder- 400 years
Plastic bags- 10-20 years
Plastic bottle- 100 years
Aluminum can- 200 years
We don’t always realize what the impacts of our actions are on the environment and therefore it is vital to teach our kids at a very young age to be conservation-minded so that they don’t repeat the same mistakes that some of us still make.