Information for schools

On this page you can find information to help teachers and school staff organise a beach clean or litter pick at school.

We have also written a Litter Pack to help teach children more about litter and the issues behind plastic in the oceans. The pack contains lesson plans for a series of five lessons, which could be taught as a week long topic, or one lesson a week throughout a term.

Do your bit – help Devon’s countryside and beaches stay clean! Remember to dispose of your litter correctly – every bit you pick up is one less piece of rubbish entering our environment and harming wildlife.

​Download the information below or book one of our Waste Educators to come into school and arrange a Litter Pick for you – see our Workshops page.

Easy Guide to doing Beach Cleans and Litter Picks with your Class

Follow our easy 10 Step Guide to Beach Cleans and Litter Picks and organise one for your class. This set of downloads includes information on how to contact landowners and beach managers and what to do with the rubbish, as well as template Risk Assessments.

This information is for school teachers in Devon and will be of limited help to anyone outside the county.

10 Easy Steps to a Beach Clean

10 Easy Steps to a Litter Pick

Hints and Tips

Beach Clean Risk Assessment (template)

Litter Pick Risk Assessment (template)

List of Beaches and Managers

What to do About the Rubbish

Template Letter to Beach Manager

Template Letter to Land Owner

Litter Pack: Lesson Plans and Powerpoints

Download a set of five lesson plans about litter and the plastic pollution problem, along with Powerpoints you can use to help your teaching.

Written by a fully qualified teacher especially for schools in Devon and covering several parts of the National Curriculum in KS2 Science, Geography and Art, these lessons could form part of a week long topic on litter and plastic pollution, or use them as a weekly talking point or part of a half term’s unit on Sustainability. Why not do a Beach Clean or Litter Pick with your class at the end of the topic? You can ask our Waste Education Team to help!

Litter Pack zip

Litter Wordsearch – a fun 5-minute activity or homework

This video might help you with the Science Activity! It was recorded during Lockdown for our Home Education Activities.

What can we do?

Download this Action Sheet to distribute to children and their families outlining simple things they can do to help resolve the plastic pollution and litter problem. Everything they do can have a positive impact on their environment, both locally and worldwide.

Action Sheet