Coastal Conservation
Learn about the excellent efforts of Mornington Peninsula’s littlest litter collectors!
BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE
Everyone loves the Mornington Peninsula!
This pretty part of Victoria is a magnet for holiday-makers and locals alike, and although people should follow the ‘leave only footprints’ mantra when visiting this area, many are leaving litter as well.
This isn’t good for the environment, and it certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by the under-fives at Capel Sounds Educational Child Care Centre.
These early learners have been removing rubbish from the foreshore for years with tongs and buckets, and one question from a particularly zealous group of litter collectors back in 2020 has created an upswell of enviro action.
The children simply asked their outdoor educator why other people weren’t picking up foreshore rubbish, like they were.
This got the team thinking, and although a lack of time or motivation could be two reasons, a lack of tools could be another.
To fix this problem, Capel Sounds came up with the idea of putting tongs and buckets down by the foreshore for everyone to use, and they joined forces with other community groups to clean and conserve the beautiful bay.
The Children on the Bay Project, as it’s come to be known, is now a successful work-in-progress, and to learn more about it, we spoke with Capel Sounds’ Centre Director, Wendy Stoffels and Kindergarten Teacher, Erin Andrews.
Erin explains that the Children on the Bay Project was set up in response to children’s curiosity and worry about the rubbish they saw, and when she reached out to other invested locals, they felt the same way.
Erin secured a grant from the Port Phillip Bay Fund to pay for tongs, buckets and other rubbish-related resources, then she asked fellow educators and environmentalists to come on board with the Children on the Bay Project.
Tootgarook Pre School, Rye Pre School, Tootgarook Primary School and Rye Primary School jumped at the chance to be joint custodians of the foreshore, and since then, everyone has whizzed into action picking up rubbish!
At Capel Sounds, the three and four-year-olds have lots of stamina and find it easiest to hold the bucket and use the tongs, but all ages take part in the Project, either on organised outings or spontaneous Out & About adventures.
Erin says, “The babies can spot rubbish from a mile away, and every one of our children are involved in some way, because they all have a connection with the area.”
From the beginning, local rangers have also been a great help.
Erin explains that, “These rangers have been our strongest allies and partners in the project.”
“As well as helping with rubbish collection, they arranged for us to do plantings along the foreshore to help prevent coastal erosion.”
“All of the services and schools got involved with this, and we continue to weed and water the spinifex and other natives to keep the foreshore strong, despite the relentless foot traffic it gets!”
In between picking up rubbish and tending to plants, children also learn important lessons about conservation.
Erin says, “Early on, the rangers organised talks about microplastics, which all of the early learners and preppies went along to. And we continue to engage in lots of learning around rubbish – where it goes, how we can stop it, and how we fixed the bay.”
“We’ve also asked First Peoples to talk about their perspective of the bay and cultural connection to it, and an elder named Aunty Fay has been a wealth of knowledge.”
Going forward, Capel Sounds will keep collecting – and connecting!
They’re keen to forge more great relationships with community groups, to build on what they’ve achieved so far, and are excited to get the general public involved as well.
The Sorrento Men’s Shed have made A-frames, which the rangers will install, and these steel structures will have tongs and buckets attached for anyone and everyone to use.
Wendy says, “The intention is that people will take rubbish home with them, and the A-frames have some great collaborative artwork, an Acknowledgment of Country and an explanation of who’s involved with the Children on the Bay Project.”
For the moment, everyone at Capel Sounds continues to care for the foreshore, and back at the service, a ‘waste not, want not’ approach is instilled in early learners.
Wendy says, “If something breaks, we try to repair it, rather than binning it, and we’re very committed recyclers. We recycle all the usual materials, like paper, plastic and glass, and also recycle water.”
“We have rainwater tanks, plus a bore that draws fresh water from the ground for splashy outdoor activities, then returns it to the earth to use all over again.”
Capel Sounds also recycles as much food as it can.
They have not one, but two, worm farms, and Wendy says, “Children feed the worms with food scraps from the kitchen and morning tea.”
“We also give food scraps to some families and educators for their chickens, which is well received and reduces waste.”
In the Dolphins room, educator, Li Ling Kao makes fertiliser from food scraps and, as with the Children on the Bay Project, even the littlest group members are involved.
The babies and toddlers in Li Ling’s room cut up the food scraps for her, using kid-safe knives, and once the fertiliser has been fermented in upcycled milk bottles, it’s sloshed in the service gardens and given to educators and families.
We can’t tell you the secret ingredient in Li Ling’s fertiliser (because it’s a special Capel Sounds family recipe)…
However, we can tell you that this centre has been awarded the ‘highest-you-can-get’ Excellent rating from the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority, and they’ve collected an amazing KindiCare Rating, too.
Congratulations, Capel Sounds!
