In a world increasingly shaped by climate change, plastic pollution is one of the most urgent and visible crises we face. From riverbanks to ocean floors, plastic waste is choking our marine ecosystem, threatening public health, and deepening social inequalities.
Yet amid this challenge lies a tremendous opportunity: to educate and empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead change. That’s why Common Seas, in partnership with River Cleanup and with the support of the Amyas Valora Foundation, is proud to launch a new initiative: Global Curriculum Templates that will help schools worldwide reduce the flow of plastic waste, for our ocean, our health, and our future.
These curriculum templates are more than just lesson plans – they are a blueprint for action, designed to spark youth leadership, foster ocean literacy, and promote equitable access to environmental education worldwide.
Why Now?
Plastic pollution is a global issue with local consequences – and it’s accelerating. Each year, an estimated 11 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean*, harming marine life and communities that depend on clean, healthy waterways.
Despite contributing little to plastic production, SIDS and countries in the Global South often bear the brunt of this pollution, due to limited resources to manage plastic waste, and a growing tide of legacy plastics washing up on their shores.
At the same time, access to quality environmental education remains deeply uneven. While some schools are well-equipped to explore complex issues like plastic waste, others lack the resources, training, or localised materials needed to do so. This inequality is not just a gap in education – it’s a barrier to climate justice.
The Global Curriculum Templates aim to change that.
What Are the Global Action Curriculum Templates?
The new templates build on Common Seas’ existing educational work, which has been endorsed by UNESCO-IOC as an Ocean Decade project and has already reached thousands of young people across multiple countries. From the UK to Indonesia to Greece, Common Seas’ Education programmes have helped students understand the plastic problem and feel empowered to address it.
Adapted from our tried and tested Plastic Clever Schools Award & Ocean for Beginners Lesson Packages, key features include:
- Youth-led action: Encouraging students to not only learn about plastic pollution and how it impacts our rivers and the ocean, but to lead solutions in their schools and communities.
- Globally relevant, locally adaptable: Developed with input from experts around the world, the templates can be easily customisable for local contexts.
- Inclusive and accessible: Prioritising ease of use, minimal resource requirements, and relevance across age groups and cultures.
- Cross-disciplinary: Helping young people connect environmental challenges to social, economic, and ethical questions – and to imagine a better future.
Our Global Curriculum Templates aim to enable educators everywhere to bring ocean literacy and the issue of plastic into the heart of learning.
Every young person has the power to protect our ocean
We believe that solving the plastic crisis will require a generation of informed, empowered citizens who understand the systems behind the problem and have the skills to lead change.
And that begins in the classroom.
Together, we can ensure that every student has the chance to learn about plastic pollution, understand its impacts, and take action toward a just, sustainable future, freed from plastic.
* UNEP (2021) estimate of 11 million metric tonnes of plastics enter the ocean yearly from land‑based sources (e.g. mismanaged waste, runoff, etc.).
