Global Citizenship Marine Environment

Green-Schools

An Taisce EEU

Green-Schools

International Environmental Programme Award Scheme

Holistic

Ethos Whole-School Action

Long Term Programme

GREEN-SCHOOLS IN IRELAND

3,737schools registered Over 93% of all schools

in Ireland

66,957 teachers

829,485 pupils

3,255 schools awarded

Green-Schools Themes

Green- Schools Themes

1:Litter and Waste

2: Energy

6: Global Citizenship

5: Biodiversity 4: Travel

3: Water

Schools

Industry

Local Authorities

An Taisce

Sponsors

Partnership

M

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K

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Global Citizenship

• Long Term schools

• Maintenance programme

• Reduced workload

• Draw on existing expertise

• Link to curriculum as much as possible

1. Global Citizenship Litter & Waste

2. Global Citizenship Energy

3. Global Citizenship Marine Environment

Why focus on the Marine Environment?

Economic value

• Deep sea drilling for oil

• Sand mining

• Fishing industry

• Shipping industry

Why focus on the Marine Environment?

Coastal Tourism

• Getting more and more important to Irish Economy (Wild Atlantic way, Ancient East trails etc.)

• One of the world’s fastest growing industries

• In Ireland coastal tourism worth up to 2billion euro providing 80,000 jobs, at least

Why focus on the Marine Environment?

Biodiversity value

Why focus on the Marine Environment?

General well –being

Why focus on the Marine Environment

The seas provide a unique set of goods and services to society, including

• Moderation of climate

• Processing of waste and toxicants

• Provision of food

• Provision of raw materials

• Medicines

Ecosystem services

Threats to the Marine Environment?

• Marine Litter and Pollution

• Overfishing

• Climate Change

• Invasive Species

• Commercial Shipping

• Offshore Mining

What is Marine Litter?

Marine litter is any man-made material that has ended up in the marine environment after being lost or discarded at sea or on land.

National Geographic

Marine Litter what we see

It is estimated that 15% of marine litter is what we find on our shores

Marine Litter what we see

70% of marine litter is on the seabed

Types of Marine Litter

Top 10 marine litter items (Clean Coasts, 2014)

Where does it come from?

• Fishing Boats

• Cargo Ships

• Washes in from rivers and streams

• Carried on the wind from land

• Beach visitors

• Industry

• Agriculture

• Unprocessed waste from sewerage

treatment plants

Why should we be concerned about Marine Litter?

Can be harmful to Beach users e.g. broken bottles, food packaging may attract rats

Coastal & marine wildlife can:

• Ingest marine litter

• Become entangled in it

Plastics can carry toxins (microbeads)

Floating debris can carry invasive species

Harmful to our economy (tourist industry)

Climate Change

The marine environment plays a very important role in maintaining our Climate but human induced global warming cause problems for our oceans

• Warming of oceans

• Acidification of oceans

• Coral bleaching

• Threat to biodiversity

• Sea level rise

Global Citizenship Marine Environment & the 7 steps

2. Environmental Review 3. Action Plan

4. Monitoring and Evaluation

5. Curriculum Work

6. Informing and Involving

7. Green Code

1. Green-Schools Committee

Step 1: Green-Schools Committee

Step 1: Green-Schools Committee

Essential Students (N.B. student led)

Co-ordinator

Optional Sec. Schools could look at the feeder schools

Sub-Committee for previous theme

Teaching Staff

Non-teaching staff

Principal

Caretaker

Parents

Community Members

Remember! Whole school involvement!

Eg: St Cronan’s Sec. school, N. Tipp. 58 pupils, teachers, parent rep & community rep.

Step 2:Environmental Review

Essential Actions:

1. Conduct a Marine Litter Awareness Survey

2. Investigate sources of Marine Litter and promote an action to reduce it.

3. Take part in a 2 minute beach clean or 2 minute street clean.

Marine Litter Awareness Survey Year 1

Date Survey Conducted

Survey 1

What % of students and staff ever heard of the term Marine

Litter ?

What % of students and staff can list 3 sources of Marine Litter

What % of students and staff can list 3 reasons why marine

litter is bad for the marine environment ?

What % of students and staff can list 3 ways we can prevent

Marine Litter entering the Marine Environment?

What % of students and staff can list 3 ways in which Climate

Change affects the Marine Environment all over the world?

Step 2:Environmental Review Investigate sources of Marine Litter

Step 2:Environmental Review

Promote an action to reduce Marine Litter

• marine litter is generally caused by land-based activities

• The vast majority of marine litter is plastic.

• Promoting to litter less,

• Use, and buy, fewer plastic items

• promote the use of reusable containers

are all activities you can undertake

to reduce marine litter.

Step 2:Environmental Review

Take part in a #2minutebeachclean or #2minutestreetclean

https://youtu.be/ic5l5hitNr8

https://www.youtube.com/wa

tch?v=7WNnt0dj8rE&feature

=youtu.be#t=107.181

Step 3: Action Plan

• Use findings from Environmental Review to set realistic, quantifiable targets

• Table format

• Person/group responsible

• Timeframe

• Ongoing

• Display on Notice Board

Step 3: Action Plan

Two overall objectives

1) Increase levels of awareness

2) Practical improvements

Step 3: Action Plan

1)Increase levels of awareness

• Letters home

• Develop new Green Code (poster/slogan competition/projects)

• Analyse surveys from the review

• Carry out litter surveys(beach/local area)

• Develop a connection with coast local river

• Find out about species specific to the coastline

• Learn about currents and gyres

Step 3: Action Plan

2) Practical improvements

• Organise a beach/street clean

• Promote the ‘Think Before you Flush’ and Micro-bead campaign

• Carry out 2 minute beach / street clean when visiting the beach

• Plant marram grass on eroded dune area

#2minutebeachclean

How To Guide:

•Follow Green-Schools and Clean Coasts - @GreenSchoolsIre

@CleanCoasts on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook

•Go to the beach

•Collect marine litter for 2 minutes

•Take a snap of the marine litter you collect

•Post your snap on instagram/Twitter using the hashtag

#2minutebeachclean @GreenSchoolsIre @CleanCoasts or post your

picture to the Green-Schools Facebook page including the hashtags in

the post- don’t forget to tell us where you took your snap.

•Dispose of the litter you collected properly, recycle/bin it

•Be safe when you do your #2minutebeachclean

•Have fun!

Investigate topics associated with Marine Environment

1. Climate Change and the

Marine Environment

2. Life on the Rocky Shore

3. Marine Litter and People

4. Marine Litter and Wildlife

5. Microbeads (microplastics)

6. Plastic Islands (Great Pacific Garbage Patch)

7. Sources of Marine Litter

Register your school as a Clean Coasts group

Learn about the Blue Flag or Green Coast Awards

Conduct a study of a coastal or river habitat

Step 3: (Sample) Action Plan

ACTION PERSON RESPONSIBLE TARGET DATE

Create charts on the results of the

marine litter survey

5th Class October/November

Increase awareness on all questions

in the marine litter survey by 20%

The whole school By the start of June

Investigate the Great Pacific

Garbage Patch

4th Class February

Show examples of marine litter to

infant classes – get them to create

some art using the items

Green-Schools Committee March

Do a 2minute beach/street clean All classes April

Research the impact of climate

change on the marine environment

and also the impact on less

developed countries

4th and 5th Class April

Host a marine environment action

day - showing off projects that

each class did throughout the year

and every one dress like a

pirate/mermaid

Green-Schools Committee May

Step 4: Monitoring & Evaluation (mini reviews at key stages)

1) Evaluate levels of awareness

• Repeat the Marine Litter Awareness Survey

2) Evaluate progress on practical improvements

• Continue to organise cleanups of your adopted area

• Carry out further litter surveys - has the litter situation improved?

Carried out by students when & where possible

Developed in parallel with Action Plan

Revise & update Action Plan Keep records of everything!

Publicise results!

Celebrate success!

Step 5: Curriculum Work

Provide real life situations for mathematical analysis (graphs/charts)

Maths

Poster design promoting clean ups

Art

Study of marine habitats and wildlife

SESE Science

Step 5: Curriculum Work

Essay topics, new Green Code, species names as Gaeilge

Languages

Material composition and degradation

Science

Ocean currents and gyres, coastal physical geography features, human pressures on coastal areas (social geography)

Geography

‘Let our generation protect all creation’

Step 5: Curriculum Work

Create eco-friendly cleaning products

Home Economics

Design & construct bins/ signs to inform of adopted beach areas

Woodwork

The invention plastic and other materials

History

Step 6: Informing and Involving

• Green-Schools Notice Board

• Questionnaires/surveys for home

• Intercom –thought of the day

• Letters home/Text-a-parent

• Parents/Grandparents/Neighbours

• Local Press/Local radio interviews Parish/School Newsletter

• Website

• Quizzes

• Open Day

• Day of Action

Day of Action

Aim: Raise awareness of the importance of the Marine Environment within & beyond your school

Involve the wider community e.g. Parents/Tidy towns

• National Spring Clean www.nationalspringclean.org

• Clean Coasts event www.cleancoastsireland.org

• Open Day, Fashion Show, Concert

• Gallery - posters

Step 7: Green Code

Aim: To state the objectives that demonstrate the school’s commitment to environmentally friendly actions

• Display on your Green-Schools notice board

• It should be related to the Global Citizenship Marine Environment theme

• It should be developed by the students

• Poster/slogan competition

• Rap/Song/Poem/Code of Conduct

Phases

Registration (only new L&W schools need register)

Implementation (7 steps)

Application

Renewal

Renewal Process

• Online Application Form – to be sent in by March 2018 (preferably via email)

• Renewal visit can take place at any stage during Year 2 • National Awards Ceremony May • Flag raising ceremony

Green-Schools website

• General information on Marine Environment

• Videos

• Presentations

• The 7 steps

• Case studies

• Worksheets

• Links to other useful sites

Date for your diary

3rd – 28th of October – school based workshops 10th November – Regional Forum Cashel 15th November – Regional Forum Maynooth

6th of December National Marine Environment Conference

Royal Marine Hotel – Dún Laoghaire

School based workshops

• Each school will receive a topic

• Information sheets on topics

• Videos (available end of month)

• Class project

• Presentation template

• Class needs to try and get as many others in the school involved

• Campaign element

• Present at forums

• Two winners will present at conference

• All students will have opportunity to exhibit their work at conference

Important Dates

• One award ceremony during the year

– May

• Renewal applications to be received by:

– End of March 2018

Thank you for your attention!

Birgit O’Driscoll Green-Schools Global Citizenship Officer

• Tel: 085 1530064

• E-mail: bodriscoll@eeu.antaisce.org

Any questions?