Plastic Pirates of Kochi

Meet the students turning kayaking into a weekly mission to collect plastic waste and keep the backwaters clean — one paddle at a time.

We have all heard it before: Learning-by-doing is the best way to foster positive action in students. But seeing the approach in action always leaves us inspired and motivated.

A school in Kochi, Kerala — SBOA Public Senior Secondary School — has struck the perfect balance between learning and fun through their unique initiative — a kayaking club that combats marine litter! Every week, school students and teachers, under the guidance of trained professionals, kayak through the backwaters behind the school, collecting plastic waste along the way.

The novel idea was proposed by Fr Rex Joseph Arakkaparambil, fondly known as the Kayaking Priest of Asia, who is also associated with Cochin Paddle Club. His suggestion to use kayaking as a way to clean water bodies was met with enthusiasm by a group of committed educators and young environmentalists at the school. Their first venture out on kayaks led to successful collection of plastic waste — and thus began the school’s remarkable journey of environmental stewardship on water.

From there on, the initiative grew in leaps and bounds. The school started creating awareness about marine litter and plastic pollution among students and the rest of the community. Sessions were organised to help them understand sources and impacts of plastic pollution. The school also organised visits to Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) to help students understand marine biodiversity and its importance better. Students learned how plastic waste in water bodies is mistaken for food and ingested by fish, turtles and other aquatic creatures. This leads to injuries and death. But the damage doesn’t stop there — the waste further breaks down into microplastics and enters the food chain, making its way to our plates.

The school joined hands with Cochin Paddle Club to strengthen their efforts. Teams of students and teachers, armed with nets and sticks, compete to collect and fill their nets with plastic waste from the backwaters.

The excitement and dedication of students led the school management to form an official kayaking club of the school and invest in 12 kayaks! Now, in partnership with Scuba Cochin, students receive professional kayaking training and set out every Friday morning for 1.5 hours to collect plastic waste from the backwaters. The collected plastic waste is handed over to Haritha Karma Sena, who take it to shredding units for proper segregation and recycling. 

This initiative is a powerful example of the role of the youth in environmental action. Kayaking not only offers a fun and healthy experience to students but also provides a purpose to paddle forward and keep fighting the plastic pollution.