[WATCH] The litter mermaid
A LITTER GOES A LONG WAY: Cassidy Hardenberg, 13, from Lotus River started her own beach clean-up campaigned
An enthusiastic Lotus River teenager believes her calling is to be a mermaid, and is on a mission to save marine life.
To this end, Cassidy Hardenberg, 13, has started her own campaign, called Marine Life Matters, to clean up Cape Town’s beaches.
The Sunlands Primary schoolgirl says: “I always had an interest in mermaids, which led to my obsession with marine life.
“In Grade 4 we learnt about plastic pollution and how it affects marine life and I never thought much about it till now in Grade 7 when my teacher spoke about marine life again and this re-ignited my passion.
“I shared my idea with my mother and on 31 October we did our first beach clean.
Cassidy currently has 13 volunteers in her group, made up of friends and family.
They started by picking up litter from Muizenberg to Mnandi Beach.
“I just want to raise awareness about this topic and I want people to know that we don’t have much time to save marine life. We can all work together to save the environment,” she says.
“I’m not here to gain money or become an influencer, I just want people to stop littering because there are bins provided on beaches, yet we pollute.
“I launched my campaign on Instagram. The page can be found on @marinelifematters_cpt.
“If people want to be part of the beach clean-ups, they can direct message me, it would help a lot.”
Cassidy’s mother Angela says she is amazed by her daughter’s passion.
“I’m proud of Cassidy. She classifies herself as a mermaid and marine life lessons really stuck with her,” Angela says.
“She became really interested in marine life. She always told me she needs to be the voice of the sea creatures.
“Cassidy first wrote an essay on her plan and then brought me a proposal, which she pitched to me and her dad, and we were so blown away by her ideas, we immediately got on board and started the Instagram page to spread awareness.
“She even changed our lifestyle with this campaign and we also don’t use plastic when we go shopping anymore, we use biodegradable bags.”