Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally been released in a sea or ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack.

Surat has a huge coastline thus many beaches however the beaches are never a tourist attraction even locals seem to ignore the beaches. It is mainly because of rubbish and pollutants such as plastic that ruin the aesthetics of the coast.

I live nearly 12 km away from the beach and I considered it as my responsibility to solve some of the trash within my capacity.

L2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

With the covid guidelines, it was hard to arrange transport and gain approval from our supervisors. In addition, as cases were rising the government had closed down the beaches on a few occasions so the main element of difficulty was covid restrictions

L3 Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

I double-checked the timings of the lockdown and researched if the beach was closed or not. During the whole process, social distancing was ensured and the use of gloves and masks was also done.

The amount of planning was not difficult as the task was not hard, moreover, initiating was also not difficult as the distance between the beach and my house was reasonable.

LO4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

It was the first time that I had done something like this. In fact, it was my first cleanup activity. No one wants to pick up someone else’s rubbish but I persevered and got it done.

LO6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

Beach clean-ups are an extremely important event to help reduce the problems caused by ocean debris and the danger inflicted on marine life as a result of plastic pollution. It is not a local or private problem it is a global problem as the ocean belongs to us all not just a person or a country. Clean-ups also can help beautify the area and help increase the intrinsic value of the beaches and also can help tourism in the area.

LO7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

The only ethical values that were concerning was related to the pandemic. The pandemic made it hard to initiate this activity and we did not want to put ourselves and our communities at risk of the disease.

To conclude I believe that the activity was a success and I am happy that I could clean up the beaches. The only thing I would change next time was the scale of the cleanup. The trash we collected was only a drop in the bucket and there is still the need to do much more.