MARINE LITTER PROJECT STOPPING MARINE BEBRIS

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1 MARINE LITTER PROJECT STOPPING MARINE BEBRIS IES VAL MIÑOR - BIOLOGY DEPARTAMENT April 1rst to April 23 th Marine litter currently poses a growing threat to the marine and coastal environment. The purpose of this project Is to create an understanding for students of the impacts marine debris has on our ocean health. Throughout the course of work students will learn: - about the origins of marine litter - the impacts that marine debris has on wild life. - to identify different types of rubbish - to determine possible sources and movement of debris in the marine environment. Eventually they will identify ways to stop this type of marine pollution. ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP I. Activities to introduce the topic II. Marine litter shoreline survey in Playa America III. Working in groups about marine litter IV. Result display: Marine Litter Exhibition V. Presentation to other students PARTICIPANTS: STUDENTS OF 2º ESO TEACHERS ORGANIZE GROUPS of 4 people. SCHEDULE April 1rst -6 th March: Activities to introduce the topic. One or two classes. March 6th: Marine Litter Survey in Playa America. From 8.30 am to From 1 rst to 13 th April: Student s groups activities to prepare the exhibition. April 13 th : Students and Teachers work together ( ) (lunch at school and set up the display) April 14th: Student groups present the results to primary students visiting our school.

2 I. ACTIVITIES TO INTRODUCE THE TOPIC. a) IDEAS TO DEVELOP BEFORE THE SURVEY (! - 2 lessons) What is Marine Litter (also called Marine Debris)? Presentation with images of marine debris. Students try a definition in groups using the following words: Marine litter, debris, solid materials, manufactured, rivers, currents, beach, marine environment. Students write a list of common types of marine debris (like plastic bags, bottles and cans, cigarette filters, bottle caps, lost fishing nets, paper, cigarette butts, medical waste...) Where does Marine Debris come from? Students have to try to identify the origin of the marine litter. Make sure that different sources are listed. When trash is not recycled or properly thrown away on land, it can become marine debris. For example, trash in the streets can wash into sewers, storm drains, or inland rivers and streams when it rains and can be carried to oceans and coastal waters. People who go to the beach sometimes leave behind trash. Recreational and commercial fishermen sometimes lose or discard large fishing nets and lines in the ocean. Ships and recreational boats at sea sometimes intentionally or accidentally dump trash directly into the ocean. Trash from boats may be thrown, dropped, or blown overboard. How do people, even those who don t live by the ocean, contribute to the accumulation of marine debris? Debris that you throw away in the school yard can be transported by a heavy wind up to the river, or the sea. Marine debris comes from all over and is connected to the ocean by streams, rivers, and ocean currents. To be aware of this point, please see the video : You could contribute to this environment problem, but you could cooperate to keep clean our environment as well. You make your decision.

3 What does Marine Debris do to the environment? Trash on the beach can be harmful to the health and safety of beach users. It also makes the beach look ugly and dirty. Dirty beaches discourage visitors and cause local beach communities to lose money from tourism or to spend money on cleanup efforts. Many types of animals, like seals, sea turtles, birds, fish, and crabs, can be wounded, strangled, or unable to swim if they consume or become entangled in marine debris. Marine animals can swallow marine debris causing suffocation or starvation.sea birds have been known to swallow small plastic pieces (which look like fish eggs); and sea turtles have been known to swallow clear plastic bags (which look like jellyfish). Animals can mistake it for food and it can fill them up so that they starve to death; fishing line and rope can entangle organisms; lost fishing gear can trap animals until they die.

4 FACTS AND FIGURES ON MARINE LITTER Most marine litter consists of material that degrades slowly, if at all, so a continuous input of large quantities of these items results in a gradual build-up in the marine and coastal environment. This negative trend has been confirmed by a number of studies in various regions, clearly indicating that the situation with regard to marine litter is continuously getting worse. Over 220 million tons of plastic are produced each year. The United Nations Environment Program estimated 2006 that every square mile of ocean contains 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. Plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine mammals. Locate in the North Pacific, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it occupies a relatively stationary area that is twice the size of Texas. Waste material from across the North Pacific Ocean, including coastal waters off North America and Japan, are drawn together. A new plastic island is currently growing in the North Atlantic ocean. in More information : UNESCO, Facts and Figures on Marine Pollution : Students have to think about their behavior at home and specially at school: do we have any responsibility? Working in groups students identity and make a list of good waste management ideas. Analyze the role of everyone in the process that drive to marine litter pollution and write a conclusion. Finally, students have to define several guide lines to improve the management of waste at school and at home. B) Watching the film "The majestic plastic bag". The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary - YouTube

5 II. MARINE LITTER SHORELINE SURVEY GETTING AROUND PLAYA AMERICA AND LOOKING FOR MARINE LITTER PROCEDURE: Students are organized in groups of 4 people, Every group works in one area (sea below in the picture) Students identify and quantify types and sources of marine litter located in their work area by using a field worksheet(survey form) Students make a collection of Litter Marine Pictures or/and record the survey. Students answer the question: What did you learn about the role you play in marine debris accumulation? Student Select one kind of debris and write a collaborative story reflecting the journey of this object (since the very beginning of its life to the beach). Equipment: Pencil, Worksheets, Gloves, plastic bags. FINAL PRODUCTS OF THE SURVEY: Survey form covered Marine Litter collection pictures and records Creative story written in common Students organize and share out the work for the fallowing weeks. Brain storm to get ideas. Written summary The picture show the 9 different areas shared among students A.- Monte Lourido B.- Torre de Salvamento C.- Palmeira no Paseo D.- Bandeira Azul E.- Paseo fronte Cafetería Concordia F.- Escola de Vela G.- Boca Río Muiños H.- Paseo de Panxón K.- Bar Jr N.- Estanco (preto Cafet. Noxnap) L.- Porto Panxón M.- Marisma Río Muiños

6 III. WORKING IN GROUPES ABOUT MARINE LITTER Every group is assigned to do a specific task to work in common. The following show the 14 tasks, one of them for each group. (From 1rst to 13th April) GROUP 1 Task: work about plastic bottles and cans Find out figures about the total amount of plastic bottles and cans in the ocean, in the ocean floor, the annual production,,... and any other information about the topic you find surprising or interesting. Imagine the origin of this debris and show it in a poster or in a creative display. Create a BIG MODEL IN CARDBOARD, or other material, to show the figures in your survey. Hold a litter art show. You can use Use discarded items such as bottles from your hose or from your school or home GROUP 2 Task: plastic bags and other big plastic items (excluding bottles) Find out figures about the total amount of items in the ocean, production,... and other information you find interesting and surprising Imagine the origin of this debris and show it in the poster or in the display. Create a BIG MODEL IN CARDBOARD, or other material, to show the figures in your survey. With all these materials, hold a litter art show. You can use discarded items such as bottles and bags from your hose or from your school or home GROUP 3 Task : waste as a result of fishing activities (nets, plastics items related with fishing, boxes,,,) Find out figures about the total amount of items in the ocean, production,... and any other information you find interesting or relevant. Imagine the origin of this debris and show it in the poster or in the display. Create a BIG MODEL IN CARDBOARD, or other material, to show the figures in your survey. With all these products, hold a litter art show. Use discarded items such as nets, boxes...

7 Group 4: Task: caps, lids, and other little pieces of plastic waste Find out figures about the total amount of items in the ocean, production,... Imagine the origin of this debris and show it in the poster or in the display. Create a BIG MODEL IN CARDBOARD, or other material, to show the figures in your survey. With all these products, hold a litter art show. Use discarded items from your hose or from your school GROUP 5: Task: food containers and wrappers, cigarettes and filters, Straws Find out figures about the total amount of items in the ocean, production,... Imagine the origin of this debris and show it in the poster or in the display. Create a BIG MODEL IN CARDBOARD, or other material, to show the figures in your survey. With all these products, hold a litter art show. Use discarded items such as waste from your hose or from your school or home, make a collection of cigarettes, filters cotton buds... GROUP 6: cotton buds Task: Human Health and Safety Impacts of marine debris / Figures about Marine medical Debris (cotton buds, needles...) and its origin. Find out figures about damages : Beachgoers can be injured by stepping on broken glass, cans, needles or other items... Imagine the origin of cotton buds debris and show it in the poster or in the display. Create a BIG MODEL IN CARDBOARD, or other material, to show the figures in your survey. With all these products, hold a litter art show. Use discarded items: such as cotton buds... GROUP 7 Task: Marine Debris Economic Impact Find out figures about the impacts in three components of our economy: impact on Tourism and leisure ( costs to remove marine litter, lost revenue of tourism...) impact on fishing (damages by accumulated debris in nets, catches contaminated by debris, snagged nets on debris...) impact on navigation (repairing boats damaged by marine debris...) Show it in a display. Create a BIG MODEL IN CARDBOARD, or other material, to show the figures in your survey. ;

8 GROUP 8 Task: Marine Litter Life. How long until it s gone? Find out figures about time to break down of different marine debris. Create a BIG MODEL IN CARDBOARD, or other material, to show the figures in your survey.. Imagine the amount of plastic inside the oceans in 100 years time. Try to represent this idea in a creative way. With all these products, hold a litter art show. Use discarded items such as bottles from your hose or from your school or home GROUP 9 Task: Introduction to marine litter. Global Figures. Show the following questions in a creative way. What is marine litter? Where does marine litter come from? Look for global figures about the total amount of marine debris in the ocean Create a BIG MODEL IN CARDBOARD, or other materials to show the figures in your survey. With all these products, hold a litter art show. Use discarded items such as bottles from your hose or from your school or home GROUP 10 Task: Global results obtained in the survey Get all the results in this survey, count them and represent the results in pie charts, tables or diagrams Ask your teachers for results in previous surveys in Playa América, in Spain and other countries Make a comparison amount these figures. Prepare a big artistic display with all this information. GROUP 11 Task: DAMAGES FOR THE WILD LIFE Find out about a range of the creatures areas affected by marine litter; Design a BIG POSTER and ART DISPLAY REFLECTING THE RESULT Make big animal models or drawings to show the damages Design a leaflet as conclusion

9 GROUP 12 Task: The Great Pacific Garbage Marine Patch and other current patches in The North Atlantic Ocean Find out what is a marine garbage patch and the origin of this marine litter. Look for the location of the major Garbage Marine Patches: Pacific and Atlantic. Design a BIG POSTER REFLECTING THE RESULT Design a leaflet as conclusion SOURCES: NOAA GLOBAL MARINE LITTER INFORMATION GATEWAY EPA. Marine Debris EPA. Marine Debris Time line NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. Marine Debris. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (ESPAÑOL) Basura Marina NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. GREAT OCEANIC GABAGE PATCH GREEN FACTS. Basura Marina UNESCO, Fact and Figures on Marine Pollution, PERSEUS. FACTS ABOUT MARINE LITTER

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11 IV. RESULT DISPLAY: MARINE LITTER EXHIBITION Finally, students and teachers put all the works on and prepare an ART EXHIBITION AT SCHOOL : Working two days from 2.30 pm to pm, and having lunch at school Some examples below try to inspire creative ways to present the results and to build the exhibition. SOME EXAMPLES AND IDEAS TO INSPIRE YOUR CREATIVITY TO SUPPORT THE BOARDS AND POSTERS......TO SHOW RESULTS ON MARINE LITTER

12 TO SHOW THE VARY VARIED ITEM S OF MARINE LITTER FOUND DURING THE SURVEY... TO PRESENT INFORMATION TO SUPPORT INFORMATION... TO SHOW DAMAGING EFFECTS ON WILDLIFE

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18 V. STUDENTS FROM PRIMARY SCHOOL VISIT OUR EXHIBITION. On April 14th we will welcome a group of primary students from Humberto Juanes School who are going to study next year at Val Miñor School.. Student of 2º ESO will work as guides to show the exhibition about "Marine Litter" to our visitors. VISITING OUR EXHIBITION : SOME QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT MARINE LITTER FOR PRIMARY STUDENTS What is Marine Debris? Where does Marine Debris come from? Do you contribute to the accumulation of marine debris in any way? What does Marine Debris do to the environment? Are you surprised by the amount or type of debris that are found in the ocean? What is the relationship between the debris data FOUND at the school site and the data collected at a coastal site? What are you willing to do to address the problem of marine debris?