Science
Plastic Pollution
Over much of the time of remote learning, the Year 7 Science students studied the topic of 'The Earth’s Resources'. In this topic, they differentiated between an easily renewable resource and a non- renewable resource. Students considered the gradual transition away from a fossil fuel based source of power in Australia towards a more sustainable energy supply with lower greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, students looked at our use of resources in society, focusing particularly on our use of plastics and the growing issue of plastic pollution. For their final assessment, students selected one from four possible areas to research. These included:
- The 'what and why?' of micro-plastics
- Plastic bottles of water– 'they can’t really be that bad…can they?'
- Where does our plastic accumulate in the ocean and what does that mean for the future?
- How does plastic impact aquatic wildlife and human health?
As part of their report, students were asked to add a personal reflection on what they could do to play a part in the solution to this large-scale problem.
Here are a sample of their responses.
I’m going to try and use less plastic in my life and use reusable utensils, plates and straws. I won’t use balloons, instead I will use bubbles. I will also donate to certain causes and charities that work to keep plastic out of the ocean. I will also tell more people about mankind’s affect on the planet and what we can do about it.
Charlotte Maclean
Year 7
I believe I can…
- Reduce my usage of single use plastics
- Recycle, reduce and reuse
- Participate in beach or river clean-ups
- Support companies that care and clean our oceans e.g. sand cloud and 4ocean
- Not purchase products with micro beads e.g. toothpaste and cosmetic products because they enter the ocean by our waterways.
Alessia Mastrocola
Year 7
On a personal level, there are many things I can do to help the continuous impact that plastic is having on wildlife and human health. I can minimise the amount of plastic I use, such as:
- Using bamboo or metal straws
- Reusable drink bottles
- Taking my own bags to the supermarket
- Taking my soft plastics to Woolworths for recycling
- There is so many small things that each individual can do to make a difference
Annabelle Michel
Year 7
What can we do?
- Donate or help an organization which support beach clean ups.
- Try to reduce the use of single use plastic bags.
- Use paper bags instead of plastic.
- Go to stores that mainly use biodegradable bags which are usually green.
- Purchase products which are made from recycled plastic.
- Don’t buy things that use a lot of plastic in their packaging.
- Encourage friends and family to help as well.
Lucy Cracknell
Year 7
- Stop using plastic straws
- Use a reusable produce bag
- Buy reusable bottles
- Purchase food, like cereal, pasta, and rice from bulk bins and fill a reusable bag or container.
Raya Francis
Year 7
I try very hard every day to be as ‘plastic free’ as possible, because this is my generation. I want to protect our one and only Earth that gives us so much love but all we give back is pollution. It’s disgustingly unpleasant.
A few months ago my family made a purchase of metal straws, because so many plastic straws get thrown away each day. My mum also hates buying food that has packaging inside of packaging, like chip packets. So we buy one big packet or none at all. My family also uses reusable bags for shopping instead of plastic ones.
Being helpful in any way possible makes me feel so delighted and if the whole world does something super small to make a difference, the results would be outstanding!
Cara Honan
Year 7
If you would like to read more about the problem of plastic pollution, please look at the sample presentations found here.
Congratulations to all students on their learning over the remote learning period. Hopefully some of the insights gained from this time will help us to renew the Earth.
Thank you to Ms Jo O’Dowd for carefully creating this assignment task for us.
Jacinta Devlin
Learning Leader: Science