RPBC and young people

Raising awareness about the marine litter issue among young people is key to getting this problem under control.

Today's young people are growing up in a world where we have endless information about a huge range of environmental problems we can do very little about.

However, we believe that teaching them about marine litter and its consequences can be more empowering than depressing. Although this is a very serious problem, it is something they can have a real impact on – both by changing their behaviour and that of those around them, and also by getting actively involved in removing rubbish from our coast.

Local young people ran their own RPBC Youth group for one year as part of an EU-funded project

Work with local schools, colleges, youth groups etc.

We have carried out numerous activities with our local primary school, Fourlanesend, which has been very supportive of our efforts to raise awareness from the earliest of ages. As well beach cleans, we have worked with Fourlanesend to build the bottle boat ‘Respect’, campaigned for the banning of PIB dumping and made the award-winning film ‘Marine Heroes’.

We have also delivered beach cleans, presentations, marine art sessions and other beach-related activities with our local cubs group, secondary schools such as Torpoint Community College, Cornwall College (Saltash), Marine Academy Plymouth and UTC technical college in Newton Abbot. We also gave a presentation to around 100 local secondary students during an Environment and Sustainability Day at the University of Exeter (Penryn Campus), with the students then helping to build 'Trawler Trash', a 3m x 3m marine waste mural.

Austrian volunteers

Over the past three years we have hosted groups of young Austrian volunteers from the Stargazy Environment project, who have come to stay in Cawsand for a month of beach cleaning and marine litter art-making. 

These volunteers from one of Europe's land-locked countries have helped to remove hundreds of sacks of rubbish from the beaches of the Rame Peninsula, and have also worked with RPBC artist Liz Franklin to create amazing murals and artworks from some of the waste collected. 

The first mural, called Plenty More Fish...? has been put on permanent display on the side of the Cawsand Congregational Church in Garrett Street, where it has become quite a village landmark, and helps to inform passersby and visitors about the harm done by marine waste. The second mural, called Yin Yang Fish, is on display in The Canteen restaurant at Maker Heights. The third volunteer group made a sculpture of the world, showing the ocean gyres full of plastic, with a marine litter tree growing out of the top. See the 'Artworks' section for more information about these pieces.

What we can offer school and youth groups

• Presentations, beach cleaning, beach art (with both marine debris and natural organic materials), guided rockpooling sessions and seashore survival skills. We soon hope to offer snorkel safaris too - watch this space!
• For more information or to make bookings please contact us on info@ramepbc.org or call 07815 567234