The Take 3 Surf Life Saving Program works with Surf Life Saving Clubs (SLSC’s) around NSW and Australia to educate about marine debris, spread the Take 3 message and inspire the broader population to become active in reducing waste, litter and plastic pollution.
The aims of the Take 3 Dee Why SLSC project are:
- Education and awareness within our club with a focus on Nippers of the impacts of marine plastic pollution in our ocean,
- To increase participation of our Club Members (particularly Nippers) in sustainability education (waste, litter and pollution focus),
- To actively remove marine debris from our local beaches, reserves and waterways, e.g. beach clean-ups, and
- Increase the role of SLSC’s as environmental champions and trigger systemic within their community.
What the project will involve for Dee Why SLSC:
- Dee Why SLSC has appointed Dr Michelle Blewitt as our Club’s Take 3 Ambassador. Michelle is a local Marine Biologist and also part of our SLSC as a Nipper Parent, Age Manager, SurfCom and Carnival Official! We also have Taylah Portelli as our Junior Ambassador – Taylah is an Under 14 Nipper and has recently completed her SRC!
- We will use Take 3’s education resource kit (provided at no charge) to educate Nippers and Members about marine debris and solutions to the problem;
- Each week, we will ask each age group to participate in at least 10 minutes of beach clean-up (similar to the BBQ roster);
- At least 2 times per season, we will ask all the Nippers and Club members, to undertake at a beach clean-up per to remove marine debris – to collect data and take photographs to report back to Take 3.
- Data collected on plastic pollution will be added to the National Marine Debris Database to help fight this universal problem and assess opportunities to reduce local sources of litter/ pollution.
- Activate the community to reduce sources of pollution locally.
We may also be able to …
- Participate in or conduct fun educational activities with Nippers and other Members on limited occasions throughout the SLS season.
- Work with select Nippers and Club Members to complete a Source Reduction Plan addressing local sources of litter/ pollution, e.g. Local cafes, inadequate bins;
- Organise a film night at the club to raise funds for the club / program and ongoing efforts to reduce the impacts of marine debris;
- Organise local press and media coverage of clean up events and other related activities; and
- In turn, Take 3 will promote the DY SLSC efforts and share any generated content with their global audience and media.
Our club will be profiled as an official Program Club on the Take 3 website and consulted about opportunities to further promote their efforts through media, our sponsors, regional programs and case studies. Take 3 will provide DY SLSC with the necessary clean up materials, resources, guidance and expertise on how to achieve the program objectives and we will be given its own project beach banner to set up on nippers days and carnival days to show that they are a club that is participating and a club that cares!
For more information about the Take 3 SLSC Project …
Contact Dee Why SLSC Senior Ambassador:
Michelle Blewitt
0417 672 979
michelleblewitt2014@gmail.com
