Research

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?

In this lesson students will learn about which types of matter can decompose by conducting a simple experiment. Students will observe changes over time due to decomposition, notice patterns and classify materials based on their ability to decompose, and explain how matter changes through decomposition.

Plastic pollution can become marine debris when it is swept up by stormwater and enters a sewer system that has outlets into local waterways. Once plastic pollution becomes marine debris, it has a negative impact on our communities and ecosystems.

In this activity, students will use persuasive communication methods to contact a local retailer to educate and encourage them to shift to more sustainable practices. Note: Environmental science and marine debris is an interdisciplinary field.

In this activity, students will learn how plastic pollution that is in our communities and on our shorelines can end up in our lakes, rivers, and oceans.

In this activity, students will have the opportunity to research and present different perspectives from community members considering a policy on plastic bags.

Students will learn about public outreach campaigns and the communication tools that are used to educate and encourage the public to change their behavior. Students will then utilize their creative talents to explore and develop a component of an outreach campaign to educate consumers about New York State’s Bag Waste Reduction Law.

Communities across the world have implemented various policies to reduce the presence of plastic pollution. Policies that aim to change personal and business use of disposable plastic items, in the forms of bans or fees, have grown in number. In this activity, students will read about the current status of these policies in the United States and their local communities.

In this lesson, students will use the knowledge gained from the previous activities and/or independent research to develop a personal position on plastic pollution in their lives and communities. They will support this position with factual information from credible sources, write a concise position statement, and present it to their class.

Motivate people in your community to help solve the marine debris issue by creating your own behavior change campaign. Students will be able to use behavioral insights and communication strategies to motivate people to help solve the marine debris issue in their community.