Plastic-collecting Final Straw Solent fish appears at Fareham school as children work to protect the environment

Nellie, the plastic-collecting Final Straw Solent fish, has taken up residence at the front of Cams Hill School for two weeks to draw attention to the amount of single use plastics thrown away by students at the school.

A group of young environmentalists have been working hard with their teachers to make the school more eco-friendly, following the slogan ‘There is no planet B’.

Cole McIntosh, 12, said: ‘There no second planet, no backup place to go and we have no choice but to fight it and defend the destruction of this planet.’

Gwennan Harrison-Jones, headteacher, said: ‘They’re steering us, it’s led by them because they’re so passionate about it and they’re interested.’

The school has recently teamed up with the Gosport and Fareham Wombles and Fareham Borough Council to encourage a community eco-drive.

Tanya Noble, assistant headteacher, said: ‘We thought it would be really nice to join forces. Our next stage is to go into the community and do some litter picking.’

The Wombles is an umbrella group which was set up by some runners who noticed the amount of litter there was in the area, and has around 800 volunteers who do litter picking, with the organisation recently branching out into Fareham.

Womble Steph Suter said: ‘We just want to support what the kids are trying to do, these kids know what they’re doing and they’re doing it well.

‘It started in Gosport and it has grown into a real community, that’s what we want for Fareham.

‘It’s not about the glory, it’s just about changing people’s attitudes - if the community does it together it becomes unacceptable to litter.’

The school has introduced many small initiatives to tackle the problem of plastic waste, including using biodegradable knives and forks and collecting bottle tops to send to cosmetics company Lush to be made into packaging, with the latest development being the appearance of Nellie.

Dylan Ayling, 16, said: ‘It’s to demonstrate the sheer amount of single use bottles we use and try to find an alternative.’