Indigenous Children rally to help clean up our country and clean up their country

RAPID Creek Beach and foreshore received a sustainable makeover yesterday, with First Nations youngsters getting their hands dirty and brows sweaty ahead of Clean Up Australia Day tomorrow

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RAPID Creek Beach and foreshore received a sustainable makeover yesterday, with First Nations youngsters getting their hands dirty and brows sweaty ahead of Clean Up Australia Day tomorrow.

Clean up efforts organised by Nightcliff Stars Foundation and Clontarf saw about 30 middle school students like Ruby Mummery, 12, help clean the local ecosystem and take important leanings away from the day.

Nightcliff Middle School Clontarf and Stars program kids are out and about at Rapid Creek picking up rubbish for Clean Up Australia Day. Almaray Cadell, Lawrence Johnston, Ruby Mummery, Quentin Berto and Clarkson Johnston are stoked to get out of the classroom and into the outdoors. Photograph: Che Chorley

“It’s disappointing to see so much rubbish we’ll try and cut down on all of the plastic. For us and helps us look after the community,” she said.

There’s a lot of wasted rubbish and a lot of pollution and we don’t even notice it, we should make it an actual holiday where people Clean Up Australia Day.

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“This is our land, we want to live in a healthy state and environment, not worry about pollution and all of that.”

Nightcliff Stars program co-ordinator Petra Wallis said being first nations children, from Larrakia and other Indigenous Nations, the students took pride in cleaning up their land.

“Our girls love this kind of thing … what they take form it is they are not only cleaning Australia, they’re cleaning up their land,” she said.

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“That’s the message they love the most, giving back to their country.”

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Originally published as Indigenous Children rally to help clean up our country and clean up their country