BSC Online

On the 27th of September 2025, The British School in Colombo’s Eco Warriors team organised the annual beach clean-up at Dehiwala beach, bringing together students, teachers and parents in a powerful effort to protect our rich coastal environment. Saturday morning began with high enthusiasm and a buzzing excitement as the volunteers gathered at the meeting point, ready to make a difference.

A total of 160 participants joined hands in this meaningful initiative: 100 enthusiastic

students across junior and senior school with students as young as reception alongside 60 forever supportive parents and teachers joined us.  After the initial briefing, armed with gloves, garbage bags, and determination, volunteers spread out across the shorelines, collecting each piece of litter and segregating it for proper disposal accordingly. Students worked in teams, alongside parents and teachers who guided them, defining the BSC spirit and value of unity and collaboration. With the sea breeze on their faces and crashing waves behind them, they worked diligently to restore the coastline to its picturesque glory. After 2 hours of hard work, participants had collected an astounding 335 kilograms of waste carefully sorted under the following:

plastic: 217Kgs, non-plastic waste: 111Kgs and glass: 7Kgs.

The cleanup not only transformed the beach into a cleaner and safer space but also

created awareness of the importance of reducing waste, especially single-use

plastics that had littered the beach. These waste figures told us the sobering story about the scale of pollution, yet they also stood as proof of what a determined community can achieve in just a few hours.

To celebrate the success of the meaningful morning, every participant left their mark on a canvas – as a lasting pledge to protect the environment. With oceans worldwide facing the threat of plastic pollution with an estimated 11 tonnes of plastic being dumped into oceans annually, initiatives like this remind us that solutions start at a local level, one community at a time.

The morning concluded with a cleaner beach and inspired participants, proving that, when a community comes together, even small actions create a massive difference for our planet.

We would like to thank the students for dedicating their time, and the parents and teachers who sacrificed a sunny weekend. The large turnout and consistent determination across all levels of BSC, showed unity and determination, truly is what made this beach clean-up a success.

Written by Shania Vidyapathi, Sarah Maznavi, Menushki Perera and Livini Mudiyanselage