Humans on the coast

Lesson 2 – 30 minutes

Before the lesson collect a container of seashore items (3 x man-made, 3 x natural items).
Plastic buckets/ice-cream containers (enough for 1 between 3).
Plastic rubbish bags.

Show participants the seashore items you have gathered from the beach.
Ask participants to identify which items are natural or man-made.
Discuss where the items may have come from and what happens to them as they move around in the water.
- Part of a sea creature (i.e. crabs shell).
- Begin to breakdown, become smoother.
- Have other sea-creatures attach themselves (i.e. Barnacles)
- Rubbish left behind by beach goers, dropped off boats etc.

Divide participants into small groups and give each group a bucket/container.
Ask the participants to collect 3 natural and 3 man-made items from the beach.
Safety Tip: Warn the participants not to pick up sharp objects, animals or jellyfish.
After 5 minutes bring the participants together and sort items into two piles – natural and man-made
Discuss the natural items the participants have found:
- Focus on obscure items (for fun).
- Is this the end of the life of this item?
Shells can become homes for crabs so we shouldn’t take them from the beach.
Some items will break down and become part of nature’s cycle.
Discuss the man-made items the participants have found:
- What harm can these objects have on marine animals (i.e. plastic bags, plastic rings choking fish etc).
- What harm can these objects cause to beachgoers? (i.e. sharp objects can hurt people, etc.).
Talk about where their items should go.
- Man-made: either in the rubbish bin or recycling – and then have the participants put them in the right place.
- Natural: have the participants put them back where they belong on the beach.

Discuss other GOOD items on the beach.
- Identify specifically: safety signs, flags, sunscreen, sunglasses, umbrellas etc.
- Ask – why are these objects good to have on the beach? (keep us safe).
Finish the lesson by discussing the following question:
What can we do while at the beach to reduce our environmental impact?