Project Surat is a Surat-based NGO dedicated to making the world a more sustainable place to live. They collaborate with Surat residents to raise awareness about the importance of establishing an environmentally sustainable future. Every weekend, one of their programmes is beach cleanups. Project Surat volunteers travel to Dumas Beach with all of their resources to gather rubbish in cement sacks. After that, they hand over the garbage bags to SMC trucks, and the trash is separated into recyclable and non-recyclable waste. This concept appealed to me since I’ve realised the significance of transitioning to a more sustainable lifestyle in order to ensure a better future. Beach cleaning was one of the things that would aid me in this endeavour.
The 6th and 14th Sustainable Development Goals, which are Clean Water and Sanitation and Life Below Water, respectively, are not on the Surat Government’s top priority list. It’s just as vital as other topics like health care. There are a plethora of diseases that can be carried by sewage water. The water we drink is a cleaned form of sea water, and if the sea water becomes polluted as a result of the trash we leave on the beaches, it will retaliate by spreading water-borne diseases.
The aim of ‘life below water’ is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Oceans and seas that are healthy are critical to human survival. They span 70% of our world and provide us with food, energy, and water. Nonetheless, we have wreaked havoc on these priceless resources. We must immediately begin to sustainably manage and safeguard all marine life around the planet by eradicating pollution and overfishing.
LO 4 : Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
We needed to wake up early in the morning for 2 consecutive weekends, me not being an early riser it was difficult for me to be committed to this experience. I preserved through it and because i had made a commitment I needed to stick to it. I used to wake up for my morning classes (drawing) a while back and hence being persistent was not too hard for me. Showing perseverance and commitment reflects on your character, it makes you disciplined.
LO 5 : Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively
Usually working with others might pose as a problem if it were any other experience but because I went with my friends for this activity collaborating was fairly easy. The NGO representative that came with us for a little difficult to deal with, because he was set in his ways and wanted to do everything according to his convenience but we understood that this was something he did on a daily basis and hence he would know better. Working collaboratively is imperative in order for an activity to be productive.
LO 6 : Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
This is a concern both locally and worldwide because it is not a problem that is limited to a city or a country; it affects the entire planet. Water covers 71 percent of our world, and unless we take actions to sanitise it, there will be no clean water left for future generations. Furthermore, diseases like Cholera and Typhoid have already spread around the globe as a result of waste water. When I was in Grade 6, I was taught about this issue in one of the Units of Inquiry (UOI) subjects. When an article in the press alerted the public about the current issue, I decided to learn more about it. This topic has not only helped me become more aware of the ocean situation, but it has also assisted me in finding answers to concerns that arose through my research. It has aided me in taking action in response to things that cause me concern and has forced me to put my knowledge into practise. It has also aided in the categorisation of my thoughts. For example, as soon as I became aware of the problem of “low levels of water sanitisation,” I had four options: Urgent and Important, Important but Not Urgent, Urgent but Not Important, Urgent but Not Important, and Not Urgent and Not Important. I decided to categorise that data into urgent and vital items, which aided me in taking the next step toward sustainability.
LO 7 : Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions
One ethical concern relating to this activity, was that we don’t not interfere the marine habitat, we had to take care that we didn’t through marine objects or life with the trash for example, shells or check for marine life in bag filled with water or any dead fish we come across. Also, I made the ethical choice to prevent water pollution and hence helping marine life from getting harmed from pollution.
