How to Help

This handbook offers general guidance and inspiration for informal and formal educators looking to engage youth in participatory forms of environmental science education, research, and action. The primary goals of the handbook are to: 

One Cool Earth, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program, ECOSLO

While there are trash monitoring protocols for waterways and shorelines, less attention is paid to plans for addressing trash along urban streets. Marine debris education, activities and messaging are predominantly geared toward coastal areas, leaving out urban areas. 

Hawai‘i Marine Animal Response (HMAR) produced these resources as a part of “A Community Approach to Addressing and Preventing Derelict Recreational Fishing Gear,” a project supp

Across the Great Lakes basin, many educators are interested in the topic of marine debris but lack the resources needed to explore this topic with their students.

“Plastic Pollution and You,” published by New York Sea Grant, is a 15-lesson curriculum focused on marine debris sources, impacts, and solutions. These hands-on lessons and activities help students learn the different types of plastics, their impact on marine and freshwater ecosystems, and about ways to address and prevent plastic pollution.

One Cool Earth, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program and Bay Watershed Education and Training program, created a series of standards-aligned lesson plans exploring issues related to marine debris and environmental stewardship.

This toolkit, created by Falmouth Water Stewards/Skip the Straw and Sea Education Association (SEA) with funding provided by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, provides strategies

Created by One Cool Earth with funding provided by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, this Marine Debris Prevention Best Practices Manual is a comprehensive guide to help establish lasting change on school campuses.

These colorful, engaging activity books were created by Prince George’s County, Maryland, with funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

Marine debris is a pervasive, global problem and one that is felt locally in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).

Use these materials with the Turtle Trash Collectors interactive video. In this video, students can virtually participate in a simulated sea turtle necropsy, or animal dissection, learn how trash can get to the ocean and impact sea turtles, and learn how we can all help stop marine debris. 

This assortment of puzzles, brain-teasers, and coloring activities has been adapted for use in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It helps children understand the local problem of marine debris while having fun at the same time. 

Suitable for all ages.

Our ocean and Great Lakes are polluted with a wide variety of marine debris, ranging from large fishing nets and abandoned vessels, down to the smallest plastic particles that can’t be seen with the naked eye. These microplastics are found throughout the ocean, from tropical waters, to polar ice, and even in fresh water and the air we breathe. 

The classroom activity package Winged Ambassadors – Ocean Literacy through the Eyes of Albatross is available free online courtesy of Oikonos, in partnership with NOAA’s Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and