Cork students taking part in weekly beach clean-ups as part of local initiative

SCHOOLS across West Cork are taking part in weekly beach clean-ups as part of a local initiative.

The Ocean Plastics Project CLG was started by local Green Party representative Rory Jackson in 2017.

The project aims to clear and then research some of the plastic waste along the Atlantic coast in Cork.

The first students to take part in the pilot project were transition year students from Skibbereen Community School. 

Now, three other schools are taking part in weekly clean-ups in the area, including Beara Community School, Bantry Community School, and Schull Community College, who took part in a special Valentine's Day cleanup last week on Cadogan's Strand.

"They're a brilliant group. All of the students we work with are great," Mr Jackson said.

"The surveying work involves collecting all kinds of data from microplastics to larger more upcycled plastic, collecting water samples from freshwater streams, and building up a knowledge base of the worst affected areas and coastal changes due to erosion and climate change."

Some of the plastics collected will be used by students for art and upcycling projects.