Specialist School students get down and dirty

Students from Bass Coast Specialist School worked all term to discover "the dirtiest beach in the Bass Coast".

They used two different tests at each of the 10 different beaches chosen to survey. The test involved doing a surface count of plastic within a one-by-one metre quadrant, then a 50-metre, 20-minute rubbish pick up.

They found that when looking for microplastic in the sand, the Powlett River was the dirtiest beach in the Bass Coast, followed by Phillip Island’s Smiths Beach.

The students presented their findings at the Kids Teaching Kids Conference earlier this month, taking sand in tubs from these beaches for their activities when presenting to the other schools.

They used water with the sand to draw the plastic to the surface as it floats, and then collected it with strainers.