Wemyss Bay beach clear-up held by local youngsters

Pupils from Wemyss Bay Primary and Wemyss Bay Nursery have made keeping their local shoreline clean a top priority.

The young waste warriors recently joined forces with the Literati Guide to Inverclyde group for a spring clean as part of their ongoing effort.

READ MORE: Big Clyde Beach Clean party picnic at Lunderston Bay

Depute head teacher Lynne Cushnahan, who joined the children for the litter pick, told the Tele that the youngsters wanted to ensure the beach was tidy for decades to come.

She said: “As a nursery and a school, a priority for us is keeping the environment clean and also working with the community groups to come together to do something positive.

“That’s why we’re here today, this is our second beach litter pick of the school session.

“We come here to do outdoor learning and visit the beach. We’ll have a class here at least weekly.

“We’re down here a lot and all of our children live locally and use the beach, so it’s important to us to keep it tidy and clean.

“It’s also important for the children to see the difference they can make to the local environment.

“Our younger group of children who are here today will be learning personal responsibility and how to keep their environment clean.

“It’s great to work with Literati to organise things like this.”

The Literati Guide to Inverclyde is a local environmental conservation organisation which organises regular litter picks and other eco-focused events across the district.

The group recently took part in Keep Scotland Beautiful’s ‘spring clean’ event, which saw them help organise beach cleans along the shorelines of the Clyde.

Their efforts saw over 2,600 kilograms of waste lifted with hundreds of people taking part.

Group member Annette Thain says events like the beach clean play a crucial role in helping young people understand the importance of their environment.

She added: “It’s really good when we can involve schoolchildren and youth groups because we know they are the future.

“It’s important that they understand and take these things seriously.

“They really enjoyed themselves and sadly there was plenty for them to pick up.

“The various groups that join us appreciate that they get to be outside and that they have a reason for doing it.

“They meet new people and they get to talk to them, while also feeling better because they’ve tried to improve their environment.

“We’ve had hundreds of people involved in the last few weeks.

“Our focus at the moment is on the shoreline but it’s important to remember that the litter further inland still ends up in the sea.

“There’s more and more research into the problems caused by micro plastics in our bodies and also fish and marine life.

“We need to try and do something about it.

“Our culture needs to change, we need to look at reusing and repairing and if we can get the children interested in that it’ll go a long way.”