“Save our Beaches” was the message given by Oakridge students on the International Coastal Clean-up Day  

Students at Oakridge International School, Visakhapatnam in association with Ocean Conservancy, USA, organised a coastal clean-up activity on 18^th Sep on the International Coastal Clean-up Day. More than 140 students and staff assembled at the RK Beach to spread the message of “Save our Beaches”. They cleaned about 2KM stretch of the beach collecting more than 140 Kgs of plastic. It was delightful to see parents roll up their sleeves to give a helping hand to students clean the beach.

In this international effort people from more than 100 countries come together each year and participate in a clean-up event near them. “I felt very proud to be a part of this clean-up activity and hope the people will not litter our serene beaches”, exclaimed Saanvi Jain, one of the volunteering Grade-6 student.

More than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the Oceans every year. As per reports, more than 80% of the ocean debris is made up of plastic. This is resulting in a tragic loss of marine life and biodiversity. To create awareness and motivate the people of City of Destiny, Oakridge International School has launched Save our Beaches campaign in 2016-17.

This year Visakhapatnam Port Trust Chairman Shri K. Ramamohana Rao, IAS graced the occasion as a Chief Guest. He applauded the initiative and inspired the students saying that “We should not fight with nature but be one with it. If we all raise the inner power within us, take responsibility, and set the goal to save nature, we all will live in peace and harmony. Nothing in impossible”.

Oakridge International School has a unique partnership with UNICEF through Nord Anglia Education, promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It is for the schools and society to imbibe the values of responsibility towards environmental issues in our young students. “We should be much more responsible towards our Oceans, small change in our behavior can make a big difference to save the beautiful beaches of our city”, added Ms. Shaila Bhamidipati, Principal of the School.

The Nukkad Natak or Street Play by the students, showcasing people’s behavior at the beaches and how it can affect the marine life, was a crowd puller.