Marine Litter: “Searching for the usual suspects …at my beach”

Hosted by OSOS , contributed by nuclio on 30 August 2019

Δείτε εδώ την δραστηριότητα στα Ελληνικά / Veja esta atividade em Português

In this project students become detectives researching the "ususal suspects" polluting their beach. These can be plastics, microplastics, cigarret budds, glass bottles, etc..

Through a series of proposed exercises, students will learn about plastic pollution and pollution in general, sustainable consumption and will fight to raise awareness in their community in order to protect their local marine fauna and flora as well as their own health and life.

This activity has been created and adapted by ABAE - Associação Bandeira Azul da Europa in the framework of the Islands Diversity of Science Education (2017-1-PT01-KA201-035919), co-financed by the Erasmus+ agency of the European Union).Erasmus + project.

Teachers should copy this accelerator and edit it in order to leave a set of specific guidelines for their students to follow, according to the activities chosen to be developed.

Supporting documents and translations to other languages can be found through the following link: https://idiverse.eu/marine-litter-the-usual-suspects-at-my-beach/

Introduction to the problem

Marine litter and in particular the accumulation of plastic, has become a global environmental issue and a growing concern since the rise of the plastic industry in the mid-1950s, becoming now a risk to human health and putting at risk a variety of marine species.

Aside from its wide and adverse range of impacts, both for marine fauna and flora, marine debris can also have substantial negative socio economic impacts. It can cause economic losses to commercial fishing and shipping, as well as industries such as recreation and tourism.

There are primary and secondary sources of microplastics. The distinction is based on whether the particles were originally manufactured to be that size (primary) or whether they have resulted from the breakdown of larger items (secondary). Some plastics are intentionally designed to be small. They're called microbeads and are used in many health and beauty products. They pass unchanged through waterways into the ocean. Wastewater treatment plants are not designed to filter microspheres and therefore, they cause a number of impacts on the marine environment, as they are impossible to remove.

Through several studies on the subject, we know today that globally:

- every year, between 1.15 and 2.41 million tons of garbage reach the ocean through the rivers.

- up to 80% of the pollution of the marine environment is land-based.

- about 50% of plastic is used for single‐use disposable applications.

- it is estimated that about 8 million tons of plastic will stop annually to the ocean.

- cigarette butts are the item that appears in greater number in the beach cleanings.

- one million birds and 100,000 marine mammals die every year due to plastic pollution.

- it is estimated that only 8% of the plastic waste is larger than a bottle cap.

Learning Objectives

Through the framework of the marine litter problem, students will work on questions related to its causes and consequences on marine ecosystems contamination, learning about sustainable consumption and waste management.

Considering this, students will research their local beach, collect marine waste, analyse their consumption of microbeads figure out solutions to improve community awareness and the implementation of measures/solutions.

Opportunities to collaborate with stakeholders

Students will contact with the community when researching their local beach and collecting evidence related to the level of awareness and lifestile habits of their families, neighboors and community members. Studens can also contact with their municipalities in order to discuss, create and share their ideias about how to solve the problem. The final step of this project is the sharing of their solutions with the community.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Quality Education

4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development (…).

Responsible Consumption and Production

12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.

12.8 By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature

Life Below Water

14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.

14.2 By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans.

Responsible Research and Innovation

One of the key aspects of OSOS is the inclusion of RRI - Responsible Research and Innovation - principles (RRI-Tools.eu). This is how this accelerator fits in the RRI model:

Governance	This accelerator is based on a fundamental key point which is to teach students what science is and how to make a valid and respectful science research. It highlights the fact that science needs to be shared in order to be valid, it needs to be transparent and collaborative so as to contribute to the development of our society. In this project, students reflect with the community on the problem and will co-create possible solutions sharing, in the end, all their work, including their research process. Furthermore, students will share their results and conclusions with other communities worldwide and through the collaboration between their teachers.
Public engagement	Students will interview their communities as well as important stakeholders, i.e., experts in the problem they are working on. After collecting their data, students will discuss with their parents, other family members, friends, community, etc, about possible effective and applicable solutions to the problem in their communities. The whole activity will focus on the engagement of students with their community so as to take into account their real needs when solving a problem.
Gender Equality	The problematic involved in this project is transversal for all humans in the world, regardless of their gender. At no moment, the gender of the students will be asked or relevant. On the resources created for the teachers advise is given in order to provide equal opportunities, not only for both genders but also among all the different personalities. In the guidelines given to the students an effort is made to use both male and female role models as inspiration, as well as male and female icons and individuals in pictures. Teacher are also advised to find experts of all genders and invite them to work with their students.
Science Education	Students will be engaged in Inquiry-Based activities that will lead them through the scientific method and reasoning. It is expected that after creating their projects, students will have understood what science is and how scientific knowledge can be obtained and communicated. By working with the community and sharing their work in the end, students will bring science education to their community as well as awareness for important scientific questions.
Ethics	During the project students will understand that cooperating and collaborating is a much more valuable effort than competing, and that knowledge and good ideas should be used in an ethical way and shared with others. When in collaboration, Scientists can overcome nearly any obstacle and provide what is necessary for a safe, developing and growing society
Open Access	After finishing their research, students will share all their work with the community, providing a fully open access to their data and conclusions.

Learning Objectives

Awareness regarding local and global issues / 21st skills / ICT experience / science research / work with and for the community

Teacher: nuclio

Age group

all ages

Students participating

Feel

Students will investigate a predetermined area of their local beach and collect all the litter they can find within the area. After this, students will separate the different types of waste, identify them and analyse what is the predominant type of waste. After deciding what is the main agent of marine waste, students will investigate its origin and try to come up with sollutions to reduce its release in the beach.

1: Brainstorning about source, types and causes of marine litter

Students will investigate about marine pollution, causes and consequences and should answer to questions like:

How does marine pollution affect human health and the quality of marine ecosystems?

Which is the origin of marine litter? How does it end up in the sea?

What kind of waste appears in the sea?

How do microplastics and microbeads appear in the sea and coastal areas?

How long does marine litter last in the sea?

Why have green alternatives to fossil-based plastics made a splash in recent years?

2. Investigation proposal to address such questions

For this activity, students will use a tool for collecting data on marine litter. This tool is designed to generate data on marine litter according to a standardized methodology.

The Marine Litter Monitoring Program on beaches is one of the actions taken to respond to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and to the commitments made by Portugal under the OSPAR Convention (The North-East Atlantic Environment Strategy).

Students will organize and participate in an awareness campaign about marine litter. They have to collect, register and monitor the litter found on the beach, identify the most frequent residues on the beach, as well as their origins, impacts and reflect about ways to reduce them.

Coastal waste / rubbish assessment campaigns are the primary monitoring tool of the litter loads in the marine environment and have been used worldwide to quantify and classify pollution by marine litter.

Material needed: waste collection bags, gloves, tweezers, sieves and growers.

Methodology:

1-beach cleaning and waste collection

a) Identification of permanent reference points to ensure that the same area will be monitored.

b) The sampling unit is a fixed section of beach covering the whole area between the water's edge and the bottom of the beach (as exemplified in the image above).

The guideline developed by OSPAR establishes two sampling units:

- 100 m: for identification of all marine waste items (collecting the waste in the intertidal zone, that is between tides). Students should ensure the activity is performed during low tide;

- 1 km: to identify objects in general greater than 50 cm (students should identify, weigh and classify the type of waste collected)

c) Beaches can be monitored four times a year:

• Winter (mid-December- mid-January)

• Spring (April)

• Summer (mid-June-mid-July)

• Autumn (mid-September-mid-October)

Ideally, the chosen beach should be monitored on the same day of each year.

2. Gathering, counting and categorizing

After the beach cleaning, students will gather, count and divide the waste collected into categories, following OSPAR procedures. The results of the collecting data should be represented using graphics and histographies.

The graphics will be used to deepen the knowledge about the most frequent waste collected and its origin. The marine waste should be evaluated considering the following variables: amount of waste collected in kg; type of waste collected.

The activity should provide objective conclusions about the causes of marine pollution identified in the research.

You can see a more specific guideline document with a list of categories for the marine waste for this research here

You can find the original OSPAR guidelines and ID table here

3. Collaborating with students from other locations: investigating globaly

Globallab is a platform where students can introduce data they have collected, by answering to a form, and then compare it with the same data collected by students all over the world. A specific form was created for this activity, contemplating the OSPAR categorires of marine waste.

The project can be found here: https://globallab.org/en/project/cover/marine_litter_the_usual_suspects_at_my_beach.en.html

In this project, students follow the OSPAR protocol to collect marine waste and separate it into categories to then insert their discoveries related to the main type of waste they have found in the beach. Within the section "findings" students will discover the organized data that includes all the answers from all participating students. Students can then copy the tables, maps, etc. from the findings to insert them in their OSOS project and can also use them to properly analyse their data and retrieve conclusions.

In order to introduce their data, students first need to register on the platform. When doing this, please consider the following:

- Students should use a code name

- Students shouldn't add any picture of themselves in the platform

- If necessary, students can print the protocol and keep it at all times.

- Students shouuld go to the “discussion” area to communicate with the other students about their results

Keeping record

During the process, students should record all the details of their research and make the photographic record and short videos of the activity.

Students should keep a constant record of their work here in their OSOS project, including pictures of the whole process and print screens of their most relevant graphics, maps, etc.

Imagine

Thinking about solutions

After the sampling of the local beach, students are now aware of the main sources of marine waste and beach pollution. Knowing this, students should start to brainstorm and think about how they can target the main source of pollution and what they can do to improve the problem.

Contacting with the community

Students should contact with their families, neighboors, general community members to inquire them about their habits and lifestyle and to learn about what they would be whiling to change in order to protect their marine fauna and flora as well as their own health. The Captaincy, Maritime Police and City Hall should be contacted. Students should articulate the collection of waste collected in the sand with the City Council.

Thinking with Desing Thinking

Design thinking is all about looking into a specific problem in a specific community and coming up with solutions specficaly designed for such problem in such community. This means that students shouldn't just think about possible ways to solve a general problem. Students need to communicate and contact with their community, learn its features and particularities and come up with solutions that will be effective and that target their communitie's needs and willingness to change. There is no use for a solution that no one will want to practice. So, students not only will need to create a considerate olution (or a set of solutions) but they also have to think about a full holistic strategy to raise awareness and convince people that their solution is practical and important.

Create

After coming up with their most creative solutions for their community, students should propose a set of activities (such as debates and exhibitions, etc.), with the objective of consolidating the knowledge acquired and sharing it with their community, training skills like communication, collaboration, problem solving and leadership, among others.

Here, students will decide how they will make a change and leave a legacy to their community.

13: Gamification, consolidation and communicating

Students should think about how they can share their work and new knowledge with their community. Here, they can spread their imagination and come up with their own ideas.

Some suggestions are:

An exhibition with the collected waste