1st Pinelands Cubs River Clean Up for Litter Less
The Elsieskraal River is an urban, canalized river that flows through our suburb of Pinelands and eventually into the ocean. Litter collects on the river banks and is carried by wind and rain into the river. The work of Renew the Elsieskraal River in setting up an effective litter trap across the river inspired us. In support, our cub pack collected litter along the river banks and painted awareness creating stencils adjacent to four stormwater drains which flow into the river.
We spread out along a section of the banks of the Elsieskraal River, Pinelands, Cape Town and collected litter. Especially plastic - straws, bottle tops, shopping bags and packaging. We located 4 storm water drains on the road above the river and discussed how everything that gets washed down these drains flows into the river and ultimately the ocean. We painted awareness creating stencils adjacent to these drains with the slogans "Only rain in the drain" and "Keep Clean, drains to sea".
The project was well received by local community members who make use of the green space around the river to exercise and walk their dogs. The organization Renew the Elsieskraal River received our project well as it combined well with their efforts to care for this environment.
There is much litter that is not visible from a distance. Once up close one sees how much small plastic litter there is. We learned that everyone can play a part in littering less and caring for our environment, even young children. We could make it better by spending more time on the project to collect more litter and include more people. We could mark off sections of the banks and work through those sections one at time intensively to thoroughly clear the litter there.
