Grade 6-8

In this activity, students will investigate how long it takes different types of debris to degrade and how weather and sunlight affect the breakdown rate. Students will learn how degradation rates impact how long debris persists in the environment. Students will learn the difference between human-made and natural materials.

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  A summary of the distribution of marine debris (specifically microplastics) throughout the water column and food web.

Students will learn about what happens to floating marine debris (surface, near surface, and in the water column) that doesn’t get collected during beach cleanups. They will apply knowledge of oceanic water movement to understand why trash gets trapped in specific areas in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Students will interpret maps published in news articles.

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  A summary of the most commonly found marine debris items in USVI.

Career highlight by Zola Roper, then graduate student at the University of the Virgin Islands studying marine debris.

Utilizing field work and in-class activities, students will learn to identify, sort, and classify marine debris in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They will learn to identify and classify common marine debris through analyzing and/or collecting samples.

Have you ever found litter on the beach and wondered what it is and where it came from? In this project, organized by Oregon Sea Grant and supported through funding by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, students focus on one particular item of marine debris and try to learn about the item's story. What was the item originally used for?

Have you ever found litter on the beach and wondered what it is and where it came from? In this project, organized by Oregon Sea Grant and supported through funding by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, students focus on one particular item of marine debris and try to learn about the item's story. What was the item originally used for?

Have you ever found litter on the beach and wondered what it is and where it came from? In this project, organized by Oregon Sea Grant and supported through funding by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, students focus on one particular item of marine debris and try to learn about the item's story. What was the item originally used for?

This concluding section of the Trash Shouldn't Splash Toolkit highlights the project team's lessons learned and tips for groups interested in organizing their own marine debris prevention group in their community.

These materials can support student groups who are interested in reaching out to their school communities, including organizing art contests and visiting peer classrooms with marine debris education presentations. 

These materials can support student groups doing informal outreach, including tabling events, as well as reaching out to local decision-makers on topics to prevent marine debris. 

These materials can support student groups in reaching out to restaurants to collaborate on efforts to prevent marine debris by reducing single-use plastics. Materials include a script for engaging with restaruant staff, tips on how to effectively recruit restaurant partners, and examples of products and outreach materials to share with restaurant partners.

The Communication Materials can support student groups in creating and designing a flexible outreach campaign for reducing single-use plastics in their community, including a logo, website, and social media materials. 

In this lesson, students will learn about the impact of school waste on the environment. They will use math to measure some/all of the waste produced in one day on campus, and brainstorm ways to reduce that waste.