Pre-service primary teachers' participation in the clean up Australia day: Capturing interest about the environment

Clean Up Australia (CUA) is a community-based volunteer organisation whose mission is to remove rubbish and waste, and thus conserve the Australian environment. Its largest event is the CUA day held annually in March when over 15,000 volunteers gather to remove rubbish from local parks, waterways and oceans all over the nation. An active, community-participation assessment task afforded pre-service teachers an introduction to engaging with the environment and learning first-hand about issues of sustainability. Pre-service teachers reported three areas of particular interest from their work on the CUA day. These are detailed in this article along with recommendations and limitations for tasks of this nature.