Bess’s Beach Find

Bess and Vincent help with a school beach clean-up. They work on the dry sand with their teacher, collecting small pieces of rubbish left behind.

Near a low dune, Bess sees something shining in the sand. She stops and points instead of reaching down to pull it out with her hand.

Vincent comes over to look from a little way back. The smooth curve could be a bottle, but they cannot see all of it below the sand.

They call their teacher and explain what they have found. She asks them to leave space while she checks the sand around the shining curve.

Using her gloves and a litter grabber, the teacher carefully lifts an empty glass bottle. It is whole, with no broken edges showing around the neck.

She places it in the strong container for glass. Bess notices that this container is separate from the soft sacks they are using for light rubbish.

Vincent checks the ground nearby with the teacher. There are no more pieces to collect there, so the group goes back to the strip of sand they were cleaning.

Bess looks back at the clear patch beside the dune. She is glad she noticed the shine, and glad she asked before picking up an unknown object.