Spanish

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

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.

Learn more about garbage patches including what they are and how we can help.

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.

Using the NAMEPA Trash Tracker form, students record their waste for two weeks (time may vary). The first week, students record the items they throw away without changing their normal behavior. The second week, students attempt to reduce the waste they throw away and compare their data from each week.

After gaining a better understanding of types and volumes of waste discarded in the U.S. and how much of that is recovered, students get into groups and create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) designed to educate the public about single-use plastics and mitigating marine debris. The PSA can be a skit, video or poster.

In this lesson, students assess where particles are suspended in the water column (using a premade plastic slurry). Next, the slurry is mixed into a tub of water that is designed to mimic seawater and students take samples to assess the amount, size, and type of the particulates. Students relate this activity to what they might actually find in the ocean.

In this lesson, students analyze the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup data to make inferences about which countries documented the most amount of marine debris and the types of debris found/collected. Students also answer prompts about why some states or countries had much higher amounts of marine debris reported than others.

In this lesson, students are presented with background information about marine debris – what it is, its origins, and current statistics. Students will engage in a brief discussion about its impacts. Afterward, students are given handouts to review the scientific process. Students are asked to come up with three research questions about the prevention or removal of marine debris.

In this lesson, students build a model showing how water flows through a system and evaluate different management practices to see how they might reduce the amount of marine debris that enters the marine environment. The models in this lesson could be used as a classroom demonstration or traditional lab investigation for students, depending on time efficiency of instructor and students.

In this lesson, students make observations about what is in their classroom trash receptacle (or various trash items brought by instructor). Students then go outside to collect trash from the surrounding area and record what they find using the NAMEPA Trash Data form.

This lesson plays on students’ creativity by asking them to design a machine that collects debris in the ocean without impacting wildlife.

In this lesson, students are introduced to marine debris and participate in a role-playing exercise acting as beachgoers, boaters, homeowners, factory managers, or managers of a waste disposal company. Students discuss their role and how they can manage or prevent marine debris. Students then make a commitment to decreasing their plastic consumption.

In this session, students will learn about the Chumash History of the Swordfish and how it is connected to the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini tribe.

In this session, students will learn about various types of plastic and work together to create a reusable sandwich bag.