Introducing: the first Plastic Clever School in the Caribbean

In the summer of 2024, a meeting took place at Harrison College to brief the Principal, Mrs. Kayleen Kellman-Holder, about an innovative and ground-breaking educational programme that placed students at the heart of the action to protect the environment against plastic pollution.

For a Large Ocean State like Barbados, the Plastic Clever Schools programme is particularly relevant, in light of the fact that a World Bank assessment of marine pollution in the region found that surveyed Caribbean coastlines carried an average of 2,014 litter items per kilometre, against a global average of 573. That is roughly three and a half times the world average.

It’s also important to note that Large Ocean states and coastal nations in the Caribbean are exposed to concentrations of marine litter disproportionate to their own consumption and population.

Against this backdrop, the students of Harrison College embraced Plastic Clever Schools with deep commitment and dedication, and began to make their mark in the region as young leaders who would inspire their nation and their region through project-based learning and community engagement.

Harrison College has a long and rich history in Barbados. Founded in 1733, the school is referred to as the premier co-educational school, and is nestled in the heart of Bridgetown, the capital. Its location, adjacent to the lush, urban green space of Queen’s Park, is suffused with the aura of the multi-disciplinary excellence of the student body.

Traditionally, the students of Harrison College do not only excel academically, but also in relation to sports and other extra-curricular activities. This is definitely the case for the members of the Harrison College Environmental Club, who for over a decade have played a pivotal role in beach and community clean-ups, community engagement, and empowering young people to fight plastic pollution.

Some of the activities that the Club regularly organises include educational ocean literacy assemblies, clean-ups after school sports events, and biodiversity hikes, learning about local wildlife and the importance of Barbados’ rich natural ecosystems, from coastline to coral reef.

The first stage of the programme, Inspire, kicked off at Harrison College in 2024, when the school participated in the very first International Day of Action. The school acted as a Beacon School, and hosted a virtual meet-up with a group of primary school students in the UK.

Common Seas’ Global South Education Project Officer, Stacey Alvarez de la Campa, delivered an assembly sharing marine resources and information to raise awareness about the issue of plastic pollution and its impact. This information was shared with the whole school to get the entire student body on board.

Following the International Day of Action, the Environmental Club hosted a clean-up on the school’s sports day, which had a hugely positive impact on the natural environment of the school compound.

For the second stage of the Plastic Clever journey, the Investigate stage, the students examined the litter collected during the sports day clean-up, and conducted an audit to identifying the school’s problem plastics.

Based on these results, they developed an action plan to tackle the problem. The audit identified that plastic utensils were the most common type of plastic waste, so the club members met over the next couple of weeks to brainstorm and develop an effective plan to deal with this particular plastic item.

This plan formed the foundation for the Act stage, during which the club took action by leading an advocacy campaign encouraging their fellow students to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics by bringing their own utensils to school. The campaign launch was called “Bring A Fork: Choose to Reuse”, and the club created posters letting the school know that whenever they chose to use a metal of wooden fork, they could come to the Environmental Club meeting space to receive fun stickers and educational messages.

In September of 2026, led, by the diligent members of the Environmental Club, Harrison College became the first school in Barbados and the Caribbean to achieve the Plastic Clever Award.

The Club’s faculty advisor, Mrs. Allison Gamble, stated “The Plastic Clever Schools initiative provided students of Harrison College Environmental Club with a valuable opportunity to develop essential skills while taking significant action to reduce plastic waste.

One of the activities that was quite meaningful was the Plastic Audit. Through research and investigation, students strengthened their critical thinking and research skills. They gained a greater awareness of the volume of plastic waste generated by everyone in our school community. There was a greater understanding of how everyday choices contribute to the wider problem of plastic pollution, as a result, they explored creative solutions to reduce plastic pollution.

The club launched a Bring Your Own Fork Day to encourage students and staff to bring a reusable fork to use with their purchased meals. Overall, the initiative empowered students to become more environmentally conscious and responsible citizens. They have been inspired to continue programmes to reduce plastics at school and the wider community.”

The success of Harrison College in completing the programme has illustrated the adaptability and versatility of Plastic Clever Schools. The students of the school, supported by teachers and school administration, consistently took the initiative to keep the momentum going and tweak the programme to best suit their educational context.

This student-led approach is very much in keeping with Barbados’ current educational reform, which focuses on project-based learning and community engagement.