GFC students recently visited the remote and beautiful Cliffe Pools Nature Reserve… and they were not happy!

On a windy afternoon, The GFC minibuses pulled into the car park and as the students walked into the reserve, which attracts large numbers of birds, water voles, harvest mice and an array of insects, they were surprised at what they saw. The children witnessed discarded rubbish blowing around, carrier bags stuck in bushes and crisp packets scattered across the grass.

As part of Persil’s Dirt is Good Project, a global movement which helps unlock the potential of young people looking to make the world a better place, students at the school have now set about plans to make a difference in the local area.

The school, which has already received the UNICEF Rights Respecting School Bronze Award, also has plans to start a recycling initiative and help the homeless, but their first task was to return to Cliffe armed with litter pickers and rubbish bags.

“We felt like we really needed to do something,” said Year 10 student Connor Tilley. “It was really horrible to see so much litter in such a beautiful area. We knew we needed to do something about it.”

The way we live has led to grave threats to our natural world and it is the younger generation who will experience the most serious consequences of our actions. The GFC students are now on a mission to make a positive change!