HUNDREDS of Whitsunday students participated in a day of educational activities on Friday to help protect the Great Barrier Reef.

The day was part of the annual Future Leaders Eco Challenge, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's Reef Guardian Schools program.

Proserpine State School students were among those that attended a Cannonvale Beach clean up on Friday and school captain Mac Rogers said it was an important lesson.

"We're working to save the reef," he said. "We've found lots of cigarette butts. I think a lot of them don't know what they're actually doing by littering."

The students were asked what item of rubbish they found the most on the beach with over 250 cigarette butts found in less than half an hour.

Proserpine deputy principal Alison Bradford said it was important to be eco-friendly from a young age.

"Being eco-friendly is exactly what we want," she said. "We want to pass on our knowledge to this generation so they can keep it going for us and pass it on to the next generation."

GBRMPA liaison officer Kate Finch said the event aimed to encourage students to learn about and care for their local environment.

"The Whitsunday region has a strong connection to the neighbouring Great Barrier Reef and the local teachers and students have an important role to play in its future," Ms Finch said.

Schools in the Whitsundays participating in the challenge included Cannonvale State School, Hamilton Island State School, Proserpine State School and St Catherine's Catholic School.

"I know it's a big global issue, our environment and how we look after it, but they as individuals can actually do something," Ms Finch said.

"Hopefully the message is getting out there that just by doing little things... that's something they can do as a person to make a difference."

The Reef Guardian program includes 276 schools, over 120,000 students and 7400 teachers from Brisbane to the Torres Strait.