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National policy gets student critique after beach cleanup

“Our oceans are everything … it’s so important and we’re slowly killing it.”
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UVic Masters students in Public Health and Social Policy scoured a segment of the Oak Bay shoreline recently as part of their lessons on Marine Plastic Pollution and its impact on Human Health.

“It was really interesting because that week we were learning about plastic in the ocean and how plastic from the land, from ships, from litter and garbage, it never fully decomposes,” said fellow grad student Chelsea Fiorentino. They learned of the breakdown into micro-plastics, which small sea life eat, and they work up the food chain right up to the human.

“It felt good to go out and clean the beaches. It was a good eye opener,” said Fiorentino, a Victoria resident certain our beaches lean toward clean. “I wasn’t sure what to expect. I am surprised there was as much garbage as there was, but at the same time the beaches were kind of cleaner than I thought. I was surprised by lots of broken glass and broken down Styrofoam.”

They picked for plastic on the beaches of Beach Drive from the Oak Bay Beach Hotel to Glenlyon Norfolk School, said Oak Bay resident, and masters student Britt Swoveland.

“It was a little shocking to see the garbage that was left behind, but it felt really good to have a few people encourage us on,” Swoveland said.

“One lady was shouting to us from across the street that we really should send in a picture and story to the Oak Bay News,” Swoveland said. So she did. A kayaker engaged in conversation and asked if he could help. The group’s list of treasures included plastic bags, cigarettes, Styrofoam, rope, dog poop bags, drink cartons, pop cans, Kleenex, and more.

They took the hands-on lesson back to the classroom for personal reflection and comparison to Canada’s Ocean’s Strategy. General agreement is there’s room for everyone to be more mindful and careful about protecting the coastline.

“I think we all see that while this new policy, it’s a good start, it’s not anywhere near what we need to fully protect our oceans,” Fiorentino said. “It doesn’t talk a lot about garbage and litter.”

“I really do think there’s a place for local government to get involved,” Swoveland said. “It’s not OK to dump industry stuff in the water. There’s this grey area of who’s responsible, but it’s really a broad responsibility. It is outlined in the national strategy to work with various stakeholders and that would include local government and indigenous peoples.”

Despite the garbage, it was a nice day at the beach Fiorentino said, with birds scavenging and kids playing and windsurfers on the water it served as a reminder.

“It’s not just animals, it’s humans too who use those beaches and need clean beaches,” she said. “Our oceans are everything, it’s the biggest ecosystem on our planet, it’s so important and we’re slowly killing it.”


 
cvanreeuwyk@oakbaynews.com

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Christine van Reeuwyk

About the Author: Christine van Reeuwyk

I'm dedicated to serving the community of Oak Bay as a senior journalist with the Greater Victoria news team.
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