Water Quality Detective
Become a water quality expert - and help with a national effort to track the incidence of microplastics in water bodies near your community. Then launch an information campaign to educate your community about the extent of plastics in your water bodies and water sources, and what people can do to tackle and improve the problem.
Do you live near the coast? You may have heard that we have a BIG plastics problem on earth these days, especially in our oceans. Much of it is ending up in water - rivers, lakes and oceans - where it breaks down and becomes “micro plastic”. These invisible but damaging particles are then eaten or absorbed by sea life and become part of the food chain. Scientists are trying to understand the extent and consequences of this issue.
How do I get started? Start by researching the issue of plastic pollution in water bodies, and what happens to plastic when it ends up in rivers, lakes and oceans. Find out if anyone in your area is working to address this problem. Next, register with Microplasticsurvey.org and conduct a water sampling survey that measures the amount of micro plastics in the water near your community. Then, based on the results, launch an information campaign to help your friends and neighbors make better choices about single-use plastics and other related issues. Check out the attached PDF for more information on how to get started.
How long will this take? We estimate that it will take at least 20-25 hours to you to adequately research, conduct and then advocate on this issue. It’s possible to do it in less (or more) time, but the extent of your engagement and participation will dictate how much you - and your community - get out of it.
Want to expand this narrative arc?
Think about hosting a Trash Splash in your community in which you fill a local pool with plastic waste and then encourage people to swim in it to spread awareness of the effects of plastic trash on marine life.
You could also pivot to a community beach clean and organize a clean up of an area of beach near you.
Running a “Ban the Plastic” campaign in your school or town is also a great idea. See this organization for step by step instructions on how to launch such a campaign.
HOT TIP: This is a project that makes a lot of sense if you’re live in or near a beach community and are interested in environmentalism and/or ocean health.