Solutions

This lesson is best done after completion of one lesson in each of the sections Composition & Abundance, Sources & Transportation, and Impacts. Students will take everything they have learned about marine debris to create, develop, and complete a project to share their knowledge.

Students will reflect on how much plastic is part of their daily lives and explore creative ways to upcycle plastic bags and other thin, plastic materials into upcycled products to prevent them from potentially becoming marine debris.

Use scientific data to craft a way to reduce microplastics. Students will talk about the costs and benefits of their solutions to the marine environment and the people who use it.

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  A summary of the Plastic-Free Island summit in 2017.

A summary on the VIMAS efforts to suppor the International Coastal Cleanup each year.

Utilizing field work and in-class activities, students will learn to identify, sort and classify marine debris in the Virgin Islands.

<!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->  A summary of annual efforts on a large-scale, community-based cleanup effort of mangrove shorelines.

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?

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?

This concluding section of the Trash Shouldn't Splash Toolkit highlights the project team's lessons learned and tips for groups interested in organizing their own marine debris prevention group in their community.

These materials can support student groups who are interested in reaching out to their school communities, including organizing art contests and visiting peer classrooms with marine debris education presentations. 

These materials can support student groups doing informal outreach, including tabling events, as well as reaching out to local decision-makers on topics to prevent marine debris. 

These materials can support student groups in reaching out to restaurants to collaborate on efforts to prevent marine debris by reducing single-use plastics. Materials include a script for engaging with restaruant staff, tips on how to effectively recruit restaurant partners, and examples of products and outreach materials to share with restaurant partners.

The Communication Materials can support student groups in creating and designing a flexible outreach campaign for reducing single-use plastics in their community, including a logo, website, and social media materials.