Eco-Schools is part of Keep Britain Tidy

Marine

Protecting all rivers, canals, lakes and oceans.

Curriculum Examples

  • English – write a newspaper report about the damage plastics are doing to marine life.
  • Science – construct a marine food chain identifying producers, predators and prey.
  • Design and Technology –create marine animal sculptures out of single-use plastics.

Visit our Marine Pinterest for quick and simple ideas

David Luke: 16 Under 16

’16 Under 16′ is a group of extraordinary young people that, Marine topic sponsor and Eco-Uniform supplier, David Luke have bought together to champion change.

 

’16 Under 16′ Projects 

Eco-Schools and Marine topic sponsor David Luke have collaborated to produce these free project guides for schools. Based on the 16’s own eco-projects, these guides show how you can deliver their ideas in your school. From creating beeswax wraps to becoming a ‘Plastic Clever,’ school each of these projects can help you work towards a Green Flag award and they are even linked to the Eco-Schools international Seven Steps!

David Luke, Where Does Your Uniform Come From? Lesson Plan and Presentation

A lesson plan aimed at Key Stage One and Two investigating the environmental impact of the various materials used to make school uniforms. Accessible Version.

David Luke YouTube Channel

Videos from David Luke including how plastic bottles can be turned into school uniforms and ideas from the 16 Under 16.

Other Actions

Make a splash, check out some of our favourite free project and resource ideas to help you work on our Marine topic including the amazing and inspirational Kids Against Plastic.

Kids Against Plastic 

A charity setup by kids, for kids! You can become one of their ‘Plastic Clever’ schools by working through 4 simple steps!

Become Plastic Clever!

Marine Stewardship Council

The Marine Stewardship Council have produced a variety of teaching and learning resources to help young people discover how we can keep our oceans healthy for generations to come – the perfect accompaniment to a beach clean!

Learn about Ocean Sustainability with the Marine Stewardship Council

Marine Topic Winner, Eco-Schools Award Ceremony

Sutton High School used art to highlight the impact of single-use plastics on our oceans, read their story and see their amazing artwork below.

View a whale-size statement on plastic waste

 

Balloon and Lantern Release Statement

We know that balloon releases have been a traditional way to celebrate special achievements or events, but our attitudes towards them need to change. ‘Biodegradable’ balloon or lantern releases in schools are not part of our ethos and will be challenged. Please use our Plastic Alternatives Guide for other ideas to balloon and lantern releases, glitter and single use plastics in schools.

School Examples

Kingsbury Green Primary School, London

As the vast majority of Ocean Plastic originates from land, the Eco-Champions at Kingsbury Green Primary School in London decided to focus on encouraging children and adults across the school community to make the switch from single-use plastic bottles to refillable water bottles. They began their project by delivering an assembly focusing on the issue, they then visited each class to monitor the number of single-use bottles children were bringing into each class each day. The Eco-Champions found that in some classes 80 - 90% of children were bringing single-use plastic bottles to school on a daily basis! They targetted the classes they had identified as using the most single-use bottles and delivered further outreach sessions to educate them on the problems associated with single-use. Through the actions of the Eco-Champions, the classes which had previously had 80 - 90% of children bringing single-use plastic bottles to school every day now have a reusable water bottle percentage of 90-95% and even those that still have a single-use water bottle regularly reuse them!

School Website

Richard Avenue Primary School, Sunderland

Having previously achieved three Eco-Schools Green Flag awards and covered 9 of the Eco-Schools topics, the Eco-Committee at Richard Avenue Primary School decided to work on Eco-Schools England's newest topic, Marine, for their Green Flag renewal.
Working with Sunderland City Council for the second year running, the children were asked to design and create large planters to be used in the cities busy shopping areas. The Eco-Committee worked with their school's Art Club to produce eco-friendly planters that raised awareness of the problems plastic waste causes to our oceans and marine life.
The children then decided that as well as displaying art work, they also wanted to actively prevent further pollution: the upcoming school holidays were the perfect opportunity to do this. The Eco-Committee and Coordinator found a video clip from (the legendary) David Attenborough that highlighted plastic pollution in the oceans. They showed this clip, in an assembly, to their whole school and kicked off their holiday homework project (see picture).
Despite being lucky enough to live near very well maintained beaches, the children in Richard Avenue Primary School understand that every little helps!

School Website

Hawthorns School, Manchester

Pupils at Hawthorns school were shocked by the impact our plastic problem was having on marine life, so they thought it was important to raise awareness of the issue. Their amazing projects included: creating jellyfish from recycled materials then adding plastic bags to their display to demonstrate how similar they look and why sea turtles may eat plastic bags by mistake (top left), creating a scene (from recycled materials) that shows how sad the fishes in our oceans are because they are surrounded by plastic (top right) and creating ocean bottles - one which shows what our clean ocean should look like and one that shows what our oceans are starting to look like (bottom left). Finally, one class even decided to investigate making eco-friendly glitter in the run up to Christmas (bottom right), their first attempt was unsuccessful, but this means they get the chance to try again (next time they will bake for longer)!

School Website

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