As one of my CAS experiences, I participated in a SMC-organized beach cleanup, where we targeted the removal of non-biodegradable waste which was disposed of on Dumas beach. Much of the waste that comes from our city gets disposed of in landfills, but a surprisingly large amount of trash ends up on our beaches, where government cleaning crews often do not reach. This can lead to the buildup of harmful plastics and other unsustainable materials in the sand, which can easily be taken out to sea, where they can be consumed by numerous species of animals, while also spreading microplastics, causing the destruction of the environment on a number of levels. Through the efforts of mine and many others, including students from Fountainhead as well as volunteers from other organizations around the city, we were able to clean up our beach and help to combat the degradation of our environment through our collective efforts. This follows the SDGs 11, 13, and 14, which are sustainable cities and communities, climate action, and life below water, respectively, as this experience led me to contribute to the sustainability of our local coast environment to the benefit of the environment and underwater life.

This experience catered to two aspects of CAS: activity and service. In terms of activity, I was able to gain a considerable amount of exercise, much more than I expected. I had to lift heavy loads, especially as sand had accumulated on top of different pieces of waste, causing them to be extremely heavy. For example, I attempted to remove an edge of plastic from beneath the sand, only to find that it was actually a huge bag which was filled with sand and water and had been covered with even more debris, making it nearly impossible to remove from the beach. Additionally, the more waste that I gathered, the heavier the bag that I was carrying became, up till the point where it had to be dragged with the help of two people just to move it back and forth across the beach. Needless to say, my friends and I were drenched in sweat by the time we were done. 

Much more important and impactful than the physical exertion, the service aspect of the experience had a small, but accumulative, impact on the environment. As a group, my friends and I were able to find a number of different types of trash, such as polythene bags, polyethylene terephthalate caps, bottles, and packets, rubber remains of gloves, tin cans, polypropylene ropes and nets, etc., which would have degraded over hundreds of years, and only into smaller, more harmful particles at that. Despite the collection of only a few full bags of garbage within my group of three people, the cumulative efforts of hundreds of people left the beach almost spotless, and we were able to fill multiple truck beds’ worth of full bags of trash. Without a doubt, this led to the beach being able to thrive in the present and future, as the plastics which could have killed animals, contaminated water and soil, and damaged the coastal ecosystem were removed to a more isolated landfills where they could be separated and recycled, while the remaining materials could be contained in terms of their negative impact on the environment.

I was also able to achieve a number of learning objectives through this experience. LO 5, focuses on how we work with others – I demonstrated this as I collaborated with a number of people, including my core group members as well as other people from the school and even individuals and groups from other organizations. Furthermore, LO 6 mentions our engagement with issues of global significance, which is something that I was able to do in my contribution against the pollution of nature. Finally, LO 7 helps us to consider the ethical aspect of our actions. Many times, people will say, “what difference will one person make?” based on which they will not participate in such drives. I was able to consider my own decision and realized that even though I might not make a huge difference myself, each and every person who decided to come created a positive environmental and social impact, boosting the effect that the drive had exponentially. 

This experience was enlightening, as I was able to experience the vast amount of energy and the powerful impact that a large group of humans can have when they put their minds to something firsthand. I learned how we can work together towards a common goal to become more effective than any of us could be individually, and I discovered the positive emotions that come with the protection of our home for the sake of future generations through this CAS experience.