Grade 9-12

Explore the properties of plastic trash and see how they behave in the marine environment. Students will be able to describe that different types of plastics float, sink, or stay neutrally buoyant once they enter the ocean. Students will be able to begin to make connections between where a marine organism lives and feeds and their likelihood of debris exposure.

Assess the contents of your trash to see the types and amounts of waste we generate, and how much is misplaced, which prevents proper disposal. Students will be able to conduct a trash audit to understand the types of items being thrown away in your area and determine ways to create less waste.

Become familiar with Google Earth while learning how trash makes its way from our streets to nearby waterways. Students will be able to understand the concept of using remote sensing capabilities to gather useful information.

Build a city, trash it up and visualize how trash and contaminants move through a watershed after precipitation events. Students will Identify the various ways that pollutants are introduced and flow through watersheds. Discuss the impacts that these pollutants have and ways to reduce impacts throughout the watershed.

We make a recommendation, or feasibility study, on how our school can reduce the amount of lunchroom trash. We present this to our class, community partner, and to school decision makers.

We share our ideas with each other and our community partner about how to reduce the amount of trash produced in our school lunchrooms. We talk about the results of our lunchroom audit. We decide which ideas, for reducing our lunchroom trash, we want to research.

We investigate where the trash is produced in our school and compare it to the trash produced at home. We investigate how our school manages trash. We audit what type and how much trash is produced in our school lunchrooms.

We explore how trash gets into the water. We investigate the common marine debris in the Great Lakes. We learn how trash (plastic) impacts animals including people.

Students learn about what happens to plastic items and food when we throw them away. Students will use the 5R words to think about ways to keep trash from the landfill.

Students investigate where the things go when we throw them away.

Students analyze pictures of trash (and the trash data from their cleanup) and come up with their own definition for trash. 

Students will complete a trash cleanup with a community partner and learn why this partner thinks reducing marine debris is important.