Primary school students became environmental warriors yesterday, launching the Sir Peter Blake Trust's clean-up calendar with a morning at a West Auckland beach.
Students from Rutherford Primary School were the first to roll up their sleeves in this year's Care for Our Coast programme, tackling Kelvin Strand on
the Te Atatu Peninsula.
They said it looked clean at first glance, but closer inspection revealed lots of rubbish.
This week's clean-up was especially important for the Rutherford Primary pupils, as they dedicated it to their principal, Michelle Bacon, who died last week after a long illness.
Teacher Tania Plowman said the children were determined to do the best job they could in her memory.
The trust's general manager, Vicky Watson, said Kiwis liked to think of themselves as tidy, but the cigarette butts, disposable nappies, syringes and condoms littering our beaches suggested otherwise.
She said the most popular beaches - including Takapuna, Mission Bay and Kohimarama - were the dirtiest.
The Care For Our Coast programme had collected 100,000 pieces of rubbish since it sstarted in 2004.
It had carried out 187 beach clean-ups, picking up thousands of items of rubbish, including 1752 cigarette butts in one clean-up alone, said Ms Watson.
The trust's environmental programme manager, Laura Fayerman, said the Care For Our Coast programme taught children about the importance and vulnerability of New Zealand's coastal areas and waterways through a combination of classroom exercises and a physical clean-up.
The largest area covered was organised by Northland's Matihetihe School in March last year.
The school's pupils covered an area of 450,000sq m - the equivalent of 90 rugby fields.
"Sir Peter Blake recognised our coastline was deteriorating and he set out to do something about it," Ms Fayerman said.
"This programme is the trust's response to his passion and is a practical way to continue his work."
And staff at Westpac, which supports the trust's work, will also be on the beaches participating in clean-ups over the next few months.
