Amy Siuda, associate professor of marine science, will train Pinellas County teachers on the subject matter of plastic pollution. Photos by Penh Alicandro ’22
The question was simple, the answer revealing.
鈥淲ho wants to help with an experiment that involves putting plastic into bowls of water and exposing it to sunlight?鈥� A forest of little hands shot into the air. All 14 students in Heather Klein鈥檚 third grade class at in St. Petersburg were responding to a question from Shannon Gowans, Ph.D., professor of marine science and biology at 黄色短视频.
On a recent Thursday morning, Gowans and Amy Siuda, Ph.D., associate professor of marine science at Eckerd, met with Klein and her students to embark on a two-year project that will train more than two dozen Pinellas County teachers on the subject matter of plastic pollution, environmental impacts of these pollutants, and the pedagogy for teaching students in an experiential manner.
The work by the Eckerd professors is made possible through a nearly $100,000 grant from the . The grant period runs from August 2023 to August 2025.
The project is titled 鈥淩educe Single-Use: Elementary Kids Turn Off the Tap for Marine Debris,鈥� and Siuda and Gowans are collaborating with two teachers the first year鈥擪lein at Lakeview Elementary and Elise Whittle at in St. Petersburg. The second year, the team will train all second and third grade teachers from both schools鈥攁 total of 25 teachers鈥攄uring a summer Professional Development Workshop on the Eckerd campus.
The goals, according to Siuda and Gowans, are for the students to: become familiar with the local watershed and the fisheries that depend on it, make connections between everyday activities and health of the watershed, increase their awareness of harmful effects of single-use plastics, explore alternatives to single-use plastics and ultimately reduce their use, recognize that individual actions make a difference, and increase their sense of stewardship for the environment through watershed protection.
A student in Heather Klein’s third grade glass at Lakeview Fundamental Elementary School cuts up a piece of apple core to use in an experiment on how certain elements, including plastics, break down in water.
Students will also take field trips to local waste management facilities and participate in cleanups on their school grounds, as well as at local waterways where they will quantify microplastics and macroplastics.
鈥淲e鈥檙e both biological oceanographers who鈥檝e spent a lot of time analyzing the problem of marine debris, starting with microplastics in Tampa Bay,鈥� says Gowans. 鈥淲e can study all we want,鈥� Siuda adds, 鈥渂ut we can鈥檛 do a thing about it unless we can change our behavior. Initially we focused our efforts in the Eckerd community, then we realized younger students could also help to tackle this environmental challenge.鈥�
The 7- and 8-year-olds were chosen, Gowans says, 鈥渂ecause they were old enough to have had some experience with how plastics are used, they鈥檙e able to use critical thinking, and they鈥檙e not hardwired into everything.鈥� Another advantage is that one of Gowans鈥檚 daughters is in Klein鈥檚 class, and Siuda鈥檚 daughter attends Midtown Academy. 鈥淪o we could see ways we could incorporate information into the existing curriculum,鈥� Gowans explains, 鈥渁nd then in the summer workshop, we鈥檒l find ways to incorporate lessons throughout different disciplines.鈥�
Siuda and Gowans say they hope to have a class project where, for instance, the students create a permanent classroom collection of reusable items that can be 鈥渃hecked out鈥� at snack time. They also may encourage students to write a letter or make a presentation to the Pinellas County School Board or the St. Petersburg City Council to gain their support.
And they hope for more funding鈥攅nough to take the project to every public school in Pinellas County. They have already made an impression at NOAA.
Amy Clark, Gulf of Mexico Bay Watershed Education and Training program coordinator for the , says the project Siuda and Gowans put together 鈥渋s meritorious because it focuses on hands-on environmental education for young students in schools with diverse populations, an audience which sometimes lacks access to experience science education.
鈥淎 strength of the project,鈥� she says, 鈥渋s its focus on single-use plastics and plastic pollution, a large and growing problem in the environment and watershed. Additionally, the experiences students will participate in will be meaningful and will help to illustrate the issue.鈥�
One unique aspect of the project, Clark adds, is its reach across disciplines. 鈥淭he environmental lessons and activities will be incorporated into the curriculum throughout the school year across science, math, ELA, social studies, art, music and gifted areas. This is fantastic for reinforcing concepts via various learning styles and interests and for sustaining the program.鈥�
After Siuda and Gowans finished their lesson at Lakeview Elementary, Klein says her main takeaway 鈥渨as that the students were really interested and engaged. It was very successful. With kids, it鈥檚 getting that buy-in and a connection to the real world.
鈥淭his is the ideal age because students are so excited about learning, and they like going home and talking about it with their families. That鈥檚 where we can hopefully make a difference. It鈥檚 starting a conversation and asking questions.鈥�
黄色短视频 has been at the forefront of the effort to educate its students and the public about single-use plastic. Within the past four years, Siuda and Gowans have been awarded two grants from the NOAA Marine Debris Program to reduce single-use plastic consumption on campus. In 2022, Eckerd reaffirmed its commitment to eliminate the purchase of nonessential single-use plastics using College funds, the first of its kind to be enacted in the nation.
And last spring, Gowans, Siuda and their students, with funding from the EPA Trash Free Waters program, launched Remora, a digital application that asks users to track each time they use and refuse plastic items such as straws, bags and cups.
