Torquay kids squash litterbugs for local wildlife

ON MONDAY morning, Torquay YMCA early Learning Centre hosted the first of 17 community clean-up days that are set to take place in local community parks and beaches over the next few months.

YMCA Victoria has partnered with Zoos Victoria to encourage more than 800 community members to participate in these clean-up days across 17 sites in the coming months.

Monday’s launch saw local children alongside YMCA Victoria acting chief executive officer Michelle Bruggeman and Zoos Victoria chief executive officer Jenny Gray lend a hand to collect rubbish with local Torquay families.

The clean-ups are designed to support Zoos Victoria’s “When Balloons Fly” campaign, which aims to protect wildlife that is at threat of ingesting rubbish, such as deflated balloons, that find their way into waterways and oceans.

When Balloons Fly and the clean-ups aim to encourage members of the community to consider wildlife-friendly alternatives to balloons, such as bubbles, to help save seabirds and other wildlife.

This program welcomes families, students and members of the community to collect rubbish from the local surroundings such as beaches and parks.

A YMCA and Zoos Victoria facilitator will equip participants with a specialised cleanup kit that allow each group to review the collected rubbish and discuss the effect it will have on the nearby wildlife. This data will be recorded and uploaded to a national database and used for monitoring and guide future research.

YMCA Victoria and Zoos Victoria believe this will encourage and support ongoing efforts to preserve the wildlife and local environment for future generations.