Community-focused programmes that connect people in underserved areas with the ocean help spark a real passion for marine life — and a deeper understanding of how our everyday waste on land ends up in our oceans, flowing from stormwater drains and waterways.
Beach clean-ups are often seen as a reactive step, but when paired with hands-on learning about the ocean, they become part of the long-term solution. These activities help children and adults see their own role in keeping neighbourhoods clean and keeping litter out of waterways that ultimately flow into the sea.
Koebraa Peters leads one such initiative. What started as a project within the Save Our Seas Shark Education Centre, working in several Cape Town suburbs, is growing into a standalone community programme under her leadership. Today, she works mainly in Mitchell’s Plain and Strandfontein, where she connects under-resourced communities with the ocean, offers engaging educational experiences, and inspires practical actions to protect our marine environment.
