Coastal cleanup

Instead of sitting in a classroom on a beautiful day, a few John Abbott College classes took ecological awareness beyond the class room Monday as the Environmental Studies department participated in the Great Canadian Shoreline Pickup to sanitize coastlines nationwide.

Students did their part in the effort to rid the ocean of trash by cleaning the Lake St. Louis shore surrounding the campus. The initiative brought forth to the college last year by Doris Miller, the Environmental Studies co-ordinator, is part of the project sponsored by TD bank’s Friends of the Environment foundation. “(Environmental studies) began the initiative last year with just four students, now we’re at 55 so far,” said Miller. “I think environmentally conscious people will start to act because they won’t be able to stand seeing others take action as they watch.”

JAC teacher Violaine Arès took the opportunity to give her students first hand experience in hopes it will be “educational” by using class time to cleanup the area across the campus. “Many (students) are eligible voters and about to start life on their own,” said Arès. “It’s important for them to pitch in and take a bigger part in our world. They should realize those things [we found] had no business being there. “(Overall) the experience was enjoyable, you get to relax and laugh with the students. It would be worth repeating,” Arès added.

Students like Anna Wu, Samer Kmeid and Andreea Millasan made the most of their chance to freshen up the shore, as they believe “(A clean environment is) a serious issue for us and it’s better for the next generation too.”