The topic of plastic pollution needs no introduction. Sadly, it is now a globally recognized environmental crisis. As a marine science organization, Alnitak is keenly aware of plastic’s effects on ocean wildlife. More than once we’ve come across sea turtles entangled and drowning in drifting debris. Smaller particles, microplastics, are cropping up everywhere, from our drinking water to the Antarctic seas. Plastic is like the unwanted guest at the dinner table – still asking for dessert.
Last year, over the course of the summer, our expeditions collected over 40 cubic metres of plastic from the seemingly pristine waters around the Balearic Islands. Some debris had been at sea for what seemed like months, collecting barnacles and seaweed far away oceans, whereas other flotsam drifted right off the Mallorcan beaches… children’s balloons, plastic bags and inflatable toys. Over the past few years, Mallorca has had an unprecedented rise in tourism. This has further increased the litter found on surrounding coastlines. But the youth of the island is fighting back against the onslaught of cigarette butts, plastic straws, bottles and wrappers they have to deal with in their local beaches. In fact, communities in Mallorca are pushing up their sleeves and truly doing something about it.
This wave of positive action all began with a local conservation group, Asociación Ondine and their Dos Manos School Program. Brad Robertson, the founder of the project, was inspired by Australia’s successful Two Hands project. The Mallorcan program is offered to schools around the island, providing educational workshops around the topic of marine science and plastic, looking at its impact on marine ecosystems and better yet, how we can change our behaviour to reduce this impact. The workshops are not just all-talk – students do a local excursion and conduct a beach clean up. They undertake a scientific survey, analyse their results and discuss solutions to local problems. Understanding the main “culprits” of plastic pollution is the first step towards reducing our consumption and cutting down our single-use habits. The workshop focuses strongly on reducing plastic waste generation and finding innovative solutions to the plastic crisis.
Last year, Alnitak’s research vessel joined forces with Asociación Ondine to give students an extra incentive to get creative. Our Changemakers At Sea competition challenged students to come up with active solutions to reduce plastic in our oceans. Over 25 schools from across the island participated, with hundreds of students working hard to reduce plastic consumption in the community. It was wonderful to watch how driven and creative the students could be when they set their mind to it. The students produced rap songs, wall murals, social media campaigns, videos, websites, video games and recycling apps – the young adults had come together to fight a global crisis, providing local solutions and engaging the entire school to reduce plastic waste.
The winning teams were invited on-board on one of our week-long expeditions at sea – some of the students had never left the island. The prize was far from a holiday, students were up at 7 am, helping us scrub the decks, cook meals and getting ready for their daily watch duty. All the hard work is easily forgotten when a sperm whale is spotted at the side of the boat, diving gracefully and displaying its beautiful fluke to the crew!
On-board, the students also got to see the effects of ocean plastic first hand, as they helped us run daily manta trawls, taking samples of the surface of the water. Specks of microplastic float just beneath the surface of seemingly pristine Mediterranean waters. As we analyse the samples, we also see small planktonic species such as jellyfish and fish larvae. It is another example of how plastic is now “living” within the marine ecosystem, easily mistaken for food by fish and seabirds alike.
Inspired by their journey, a winning group of students did not give up the battle after stepping off our boat. Instead, they returned to their school and spread our conservation message, speaking to students both younger and older about the impact they can have. These girls were true ocean warriors and have inspired us to continue our engagement of the next generation. This summer, our Changemakers challenge is on again and we can’t wait to see what these bright young minds will do to save our oceans.
Learn more at https://www.asociacionondine.org/en/our-projects/dos-manos/
Jasmine Spavieri is a professional science communicator and educator. She has over 10 years experience working in institutions like London’s Science Museum and Boston’s Museum of Science. For the last two years, she has been running the educational program for Alnitak, following her passion for marine science.