Local 17-year-old high school student, Harrison Peach, is clearing rubbish at Penarth seafront as part of his Welsh Baccalaureate.

Harrison has lived in Penarth all his life and so, when tasked to do some volunteering, he decided he wanted to collect the rubbish he noticed was gathering along Penarth beach.

“It’s just always a real shame to see people leaving litter everywhere. And I really love this community, so I thought the least I could do was put in the effort to take some of it from one of the loveliest places in town.”

Aside from the rubbish ruining the scenic views, Harrison saw what problems this careless behaviour could cause. “We share the beach with everyone from all over Penarth, as well as the wildlife, and anything people leave behind may eventually get taken out to sea. That’s why it’s so important to respect it. The same goes for all of Penarth.”

As well as spending his free time with a black bag and a little picker, Harrison made an effort to encourage other people to take part in his clean-up. Charlotte Peach, who also lives in the area and was happy to get involved. “It’s great to see young people taking care of the community they live in for everyone to enjoy.”

There are a few litter picking groups in and around Penarth, but unfortunately few consist of young members of the community. Harrison hopes to change that mindset. “I think that it needs to be made clear to everyone, especially young people who’ll grow up to see the future of Penarth. If they want that future to be healthy, and free of litter, it’s important to put the work in now, so I got myself and others involved in the hopes of sharing that mindset and making a difference.”

As a community, it is important to take good care of the space we all live in. We hope to see more young people like Harrison take those steps to make a difference to the town.