Α one-day-course with All For Blue and Kalandrou Schools

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The result of a day with All for blue, after cleaning a beach in Artemida, was 9 (reusable) bags of trash, full of plastic, glass & metal items, 140 happy students, 6 proud teachers and 1 excited marketer (me!).

But let’s get it all from the beginning!

In the afternoon of September 27th, we were at the Albatros Beach Bar in Artemida, along with students from Kalandrou Schools and Mrs. Katerina Topouzoglou, founder and representative of All For Blue organisation. The instructions were clear. We all – students, teachers & marketers – volunteered to participate in a beach cleanup and collect all plastic, glass and metal trash into reusable bags and gloves.

The first thought that came across my mind while wearing the All For Blue

T-shirt was “Well, how much trash can there be on a 50-60m long beach???”. The last thought that comes to my mind from that day is “Wow! You can’t even imagine how MUCH trash there is on a 50-60m long beach!!!”.

It took us about 40 minutes to fill 9 super-full reusable bags full of trash. Glass bottles of soft drinks, paper cups of coffee, plastic straws, empty water bottles, metal beer caps, snack pouches and numerous cigarette butts were the items that contradicted my first thoughts and impressed. But since each coin has two sides, the positive outcome is the 140-trained students, who did their best to become the Heroes of the Day. With joy and positive vibes, all the children of the new generation, who represent hope, set the foundations for a cleaner tomorrow; respecting the home we live in, our planet.

To achieve this goal, an ocean conservation seminar was preceded by Mrs. Katerina Topouzoglou at  the Kalandrou Private School, in Palini. I participated, as a member of All For Blue team, and ended up attending the educational presentation about shark and sea protection with great interest and dedication, along with elementary school students. The information was crucial to my subsequent attitude.

Did you know…

…that the smaller shark, which is equal in length to our palm, is more aggressive than the larger species, the whale shark, which is the harmless giant of the sea?

…that the food of sharks is fish and not humans, as we watch in the movies?

…that the trash dumped at sea has created  islands of waste, the garbage patches, up to 4m deep and a total area equal of France?

…that supermarket carts, sanitary ware, truck tires and motorbikes (yes motorbikes!) were found at the bottom of the sea in the Aegean islands?

Me, no, I didn’t know.

All above was the main cause for both surprise and perception of the ignorance we have. However, the maturity and open-mind which the students received all the information with, is truly remarkable. The seminar was specifically tailored to the age of the children and was delivered in such a way, that within 40 minutes, the “seed” was planted, that would become “fruit” in the coming years.

That morning, in my own way, I also participated in “cultivating” the spirit of these students, believing that, in the future, they would be the ones who would write the new pages of our history. My name is Corina Antoniadou, I am 30 years old, I work in the Marketing Department of Flax Ltd and it took me 30 years to realize how important the respect in environment is. It’s respect to ourselves.

 

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