TK Maxx Christchruch

Participants of NCS delivered by Personal Best Education in Hampshire have been tackling the growing plastic pollution issue head on. In 2018 our young people donated hundreds of hours organising and delivering beach cleans across the county. NCS is a government backed programme established in 2011 to help build a more cohesive, mobile and engaged society. By bringing together young people from different backgrounds for a unique shared experience, NCS helps them to become better individuals, and in turn better citizens. NCS is open to 16 and 17 year-olds across England and Northern Ireland. The two to four week programme, which takes place in school holidays, includes outdoor team-building exercises, a residential for participants to learn ‘life skills’ and a community-based social action project . As part of their social action projects many young people highlighted the growing problem plastic pollution is having on our shores and the wildlife that live in our oceans. Therefore they decided to donate their time towards taking part in beach cleans across the county and try and help resolve the problem the best they could. They also felt their time was best used in educating the public. The young people believed by being proactive through education as well as reactive through beach cleans would make the biggest positive impact. All their efforts were in support of the charity Surfers Against Sewage. Almost a 100 bin bags worth of rubbish was collected and removed from our shores but this is just the start.