Living with Waste, Living with Place

Naarm 📍

Sandy Point, located within walking distance of the classroom, became a powerful site for exploring entanglements between water, birds, shorelines, shipping routes, human activity, and discarded materials, all coexisting within the same place. Across several visits to the shoreline, a group of 7–8-year-old children investigated the stories of human activity by observing, documenting, and analysing the traces of human presence left behind.

As the inquiry unfolded, the children began asking how their everyday lives might be connected to what washes up on the shores of Sandy Point. Initial questions such as Why do people litter? evolved into deeper discussion and debate. Working collaboratively, the children developed theories about the impacts of human-made waste on the shoreline and considered how these traces may shape Sandy Point for future generations of people, animals, and ecosystems.

Their investigations prompted broader ethical questions about care, responsibility, and stewardship. The children explored whether the bay is worth protecting, who they are protecting it for, where waste comes from, where it goes, and what positive difference individuals and communities can make. Through these inquiries, they developed a growing understanding of the interconnected relationships between human actions, place, and ecological futures.