Plastic pollution has definitely increased in popularity over the past couple of years. As a result, pollution awareness programs have been getting incorporated to schools, either in classes specifically or after school programs. Today I’m going to talk about some school related programs and resources around the country!
The first program I want to discuss is “Plastic Free Schools” through Plastic Pollution Coalition. This program is a “community of schools, colleges, and universities working to reduce their plastic footprint.” The program works to reduce plastic use and ultimately stop the use of plastic bottles, straws, utensils, and food packaging. Every school can work towards this goal in a different ways, as every school is different. Any school or student group is welcome to join! The great thing about this project is that they walk you through how to get started with this huge project. It can be daunting, but they give you pointers and connect your group to others to exchange ideas and work together. Another great thing about this project is that they have a whole list of resources for varying age groups which can be used in the classroom!
A resource I really like to keep up with is National Geographic Education Blog. This is full of tips to try in your classroom or even at home. What I like about this is that they even get specific examples of activities you can do in class. I would specifically check out the “Teacher’s Toolkit.” This is a list of activities divided into varying grade levels. You can even adapt each activity for a different grade level or to meet the needs of your student.
This next resource is based in Australia, but I think we could definitely take some inspiration from them. Plastic Pollution Solutions is a program full of presentations and hands on activities to engage and inspire kids to be a part of the solution for plastic pollution. This is actually a group which visits schools. However, classrooms and homes can visit their “resources” links to use their videos andlessons. These activities meet a range of grade levels and topic areas and are super engaging!
