On 2nd of May 2025, took place a Cleaning volunteering activity on the beach of Kalamata by the 1st General Upper Secondary School (1st High School) of Kalamata in collaboration with the Centre for Education for the Environment and Sustainability (KEPEA) of Kalamata and the Municipality of Kalamata’s Tourism Office.
The Centre for Education for the Environment and Sustainability (KEPEA) of Kalamata, in the framework of the Erasmus+ project entitled Tell Youth in which it is a partner, organized a clean-up action of the coastal area with a school group of the 1st High School of Kalamata on Friday 2 May 2025, in cooperation with the Municipality of Kalamata.
A teaching hour was dedicated to an information session on coastal pollution and then the students of the 1st class carried out a litter collection on a route from their school to the beach at the height of the Holy Church of the Resurrection in Kalamata.
The student group took stock of the litter collection and concluded that most of the items were paper cups, plastic bottles, straws, cigarette packets and baby wipes. Particularly hazardous materials such as boards with nails and cleaning bottles were found. Most of the litter was found on benches or on walls (visibly blown away by the wind).
A total of 12 large bags of litter were collected (including two for recycling and one with bulky items).
The Head of the Department of Tourism of the Municipality Mr. Giannakopoulos Nikolaos attended the event and thanked the children and talked to them about the ‘Blue Flags’ program and the lifeguard coverage of the beaches of the Municipality of Kalamata. Then, the instructor-swimmer Mr. Panagiotis Logopatis gave us safe swimming tips and talked to us about the role of the lifeguard.
The biggest reward came from two toddlers who, while swimming with their parents on the beach, started picking up litter and contributing to the effort.
We warmly thank all the students of the 1st High School of Kalamata with their accompanying teachers, Mrs. Maria Metsiou and Mr. Poulos Konstantinos, who took part in the action with enthusiasm, as well as the Headmistress of the school, Mrs. Vassiliki Kelli, along with the Teachers’ Association for facilitating their participation.