The region’s youngest environmental champions will head to Four Mile Beach on March 1 for Port Douglas C&K Community Kindergarten’s Clean Up Australia Day event - a hands-on lesson in shared responsibility.

More than a litter collection, the event is about coming together and showing children what shared responsibility looks like in action.

Clean Up Australia Day is a nationwide initiative founded and delivered through Clean Up Australia. What began as one man’s vision has grown into a movement embraced by communities across the country. 

This year, the Port Douglas kindergarten is proudly leading the local effort.

Director Beth Treloar said the initiative connects directly with the children’s everyday learning.

“Our children learn every day about habitats, insects, ocean life and the delicate balance of the ecosystems that surround us,” she said.

“Now we are extending that learning beyond the fence line and onto the sand.”

“Four Mile Beach is one of Port Douglas’ greatest treasures,” she continued.

“It is a place where families walk, children explore and marine life thrives. By caring for it together, we send a powerful message: this is our home, and we look after it.

For the kindergarten’s young participants, the experience is about far more than rubbish bags and buckets.

“When a child picks up a piece of litter, they learn their actions matter,” Ms Treloar said. 

“They see adults modelling care, they feel capable and they understand that protecting habitats isn’t someone else’s job, it belongs to all of us.”