MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Mossel Bay families and learners are being called to protect and conserve the coast by joining a community-led project, in partnership with the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR), called the Great Global Nurdle Hunt.
Nurdles are tiny plastic resin pellets that are about the size of a lentil. They are used to manufacture nearly all commercial plastic products.
Project leader Rika Burger says accidental industrial spills send billions of these nurdles washing up along shorelines like ours, where marine animals mistake them for food. This then leads to starvation and toxic chemical buildup in the marine food chain.
While the hunt runs from 4 September to 4 October, learners can still make a meaningful impact by joining the hunt whenever they visit the beach. "By searching for, counting and recording nurdles, learners become citizen scientists.
Their observations contribute to a wider understanding of plastic pellet pollution while encouraging practical environmental action and care for Mossel Bay's coastline," said Burger.
She is calling on schools to participate in the hunt during this last week of September, heading into October. Contact her for more information.
The nurdle hunt will also be treated as a competition with prizes, sponsored by the GCBR. The prizes will be awarded to the individual learners who collect and submit the highest verified numbers of nurdles.
You could win GCBR backpacks, caps, tote bags, Friends of the Biosphere T-shirts and other treats.
Burger is also hosting a nurdle hunt on Little Brak Beach from 08:00 to 10:00 on Friday 2 October, for families and children. Contact her by sending a message to her Instagram account, @nurdlehuntmb, or emailing her at [email protected].
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