Outdoor Activity

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

“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.

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.

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?

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

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

The From Shore to State House curriculum was the product of a project with the University of Hartford to create an open source, replicable, college-level service learning course to improve knowledge, lead outreach, inform policy, and inspire change on the issue of marine debris.

Developed as a means to educate the next generation about ocean trash and, most importantly, how we all can prevent it. Created through an educational partnership between Ocean Conservancy and the NOAA Marine Debris Program. Flexible curriculum, appropriate for all ages.

Designed as a stand-alone teaching tool or to supplement lessons for educators in both formal and informal settings. Appropriate for students grades K-12, with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) objectives.

This guide is designed for educators in both formal and informal education situations. It is a regional introduction to three main categories of marine debris: litter; derelict or abandoned boats; and lost or abandoned commercial and recreational fishing gear. Appropriate for grades 5-8.

As a class, students organize and conduct a cleanup of a local beach, lake, or stream. Students keep track of the types and amounts of trash picked up and analyze this information in the classroom. As a class, students discuss the marine debris problem in their community and consider ways to prevent it.

Students perform an experiment to learn how different types of debris break down in the environment (degrade) and how weather and sunlight affect the rate of degradation.

Team-building/active activity where students use verbal directions to guide blindfolded classmates through an obstacle course, simulating navigation around abandoned and derelict vessels.