With the central slogan "Sea is life", the volunteer students of the Helmepa Jr visited last week the nearby coastline of our city, to collect the waste and share their message for clean seas and coasts.
More specifically, two groups of the 5th grade and one of the 6th grade, in collaboration with the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) scientists, cleaned the beach below the Crete Aquarium and recorded the type of trash they collected. Then the scientists showed the children how they collect data on the amounts of microplastics present in the sand and we left for the research center facilities.
There, the students had the opportunity to learn about the important research carried out in marine sciences, to be guided around the specialized areas of the center, and to see the laboratories and the equipment used by the scientists.
In addition, through presentations and interactive activities, the students were informed about marine biodiversity but also the challenges facing our seas due to pollution and climate change. But what seems to have gained their interest the most was the aquaculture tour, where they saw up close the different species of fish reared there, as well as the procedures involved in hatching and rearing the young organisms.
At the same time, another group of students, made up of the three classes of the 4th Primary School, visited the Karteros Municipal Beach in order to clean the beach. Representatives of the Coast Guard were waiting for them there, who informed the children about the joys the sea offers but also about the dangers it hides.
Then the students were divided into groups and started cleaning the shore and recording the litter.
The children worked with enthusiasm and responsibility. Their prey was quite large. "No one is paying attention, everyone is throwing garbage everywhere. But why???" They kept asking.
