As part of the NES Incentive Grants Programme under the Pacific Ocean Litter Project (POLP), NES partnered with GROW Aitutaki to deliver the Plastic Patrol: Land to Lagoon – Youth Waste Monitoring & Ocean Stewardship Initiative across Aitutaki. GROW Aitutaki is a youth based group through empowering place based learning, culture & inclusion. Raising tomorrow’s protectors of our land and lagoon.
GROW Aitutaki kicked off the initiative by partnering with Araura Primary School and Araura College to engage young people in practical environmental monitoring and coastal stewardship activities. The initiative focused on tracking plastic waste from land-based environments through to the lagoon, helping students better understand how pollution moves through Aitutaki’s island ecosystem.
Through beach, lagoon, and village wharf clean-ups, students collected, sorted, counted, and recorded rubbish including plastic bottles, fishing debris, household waste, micro plastics, and washed ashore FADs found across coastal and lagoon sites. The Map Marker app was also used throughout the project to record walked areas and map Plastic Patrol audit locations across land and lagoon sites in Aitutaki. These hands-on activities strengthened students’ awareness of marine pollution while building practical skills in environmental monitoring, teamwork, and conservation. Araura Primary School also introduced a reusable water bottle campaign to help reduce single-use plastic waste at school.
The initiative has encouraged ongoing youth-led environmental action and strengthened partnerships between schools, community groups, and conservation efforts across Aitutaki. Follow-up waste audits and awareness activities are planned to continue supporting cleaner coastlines, healthier lagoons, and future ocean stewardship within the community.
NES would like to acknowledge the GROW Aitutaki team, including the youth participants and students, Araura Primary Principal Mrs Colette Clarke, Araura College Principal Jason Kora and Aitutaki NES Officers Ms Alone Davey and Mrs Linda Ruamoana for their support and commitment in achieving this milestone. NES also acknowledges the support of the Australian Government and the team at SPREP for making this initiative possible.
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