At a series of gifting ceremonies between the 18th and 22nd of January, members of the Clean Blue Paros team were joined by Mayor Mr. Markos Koveos, Educational Vice-Mayor Mrs Dora Sarri as well as Parents Associations representatives. Last week's ceremonies took place in all six of Paros’ elementary schools and marked the official launch of Clean Blue Paros’ education programme, which is aimed at children aged 6-18. The team will continue the launch of the programme next week with visits to secondary schools.

In February, every teacher who wants to start using this educational material will be trained online by our educational partners - WWF Greece.

“We hope this program signals the beginning of a new chapter for our small island. As a resident of Paros, member of this team and a parent, I would like to express how deeply happy I am. I hope that with our collective actions we will start making waves of positive change for the future.”

Zana Kontomanoli - Project Lead - Clean Blue Paros

Back in 2019, the Clean Blue Paros team fitted fountains in all schools to provide students with a source of clean, safe, plastic-free drinking water. The recent launch of our education platform, together with the supply of reusable bottles, will allow schools to combine knowledge with action and practice - encouraging students to become the next generation of Sea Champions whilst radically reducing their school’s reliance on single-use plastic.

Jo Royle - Managing Director of Common Seas talked about the impact the education programme will have.

“We believe that education is the secret to long-term change in how our society makes, uses and disposes of plastics. Our educational resources teach kids about plastic, and also – crucially – empower them to reduce plastic waste in their own lives and community. We want every child to understand marine plastic pollution so they can help create a plastic waste-free future."

“The delivery of this education programme on Paros is just the beginning. Our global programme, Ocean Plastics Academy, offers a full suite of curriculum-aligned resources - available to all Greek educational institutions, as well as any responsible citizen who may want to know more”.

Paros was chosen as a lighthouse project for Clean Blue Alliance because of the complexity of its plastic waste problem. In summer, the island’s population increases by around 400%, leading to a 350% increase in waste - much of which is comprised of single-use plastics. We are working to help Paros become the first single-use plastic waste-free island in the Mediterranean.

Mayor Mr. Markos Koveos is a strong supporter of Clean Blue Paros:

“We continue to support the work and effort of the Clean Blue Paros team to build and maintain a strong culture of ecological awareness in Paros starting from our children and expanding it to the whole of our society. The Municipality of Paros is fully engaged in the educational programme that is already up and running and we hope to see our island acting as an example for other Greek islands aiming towards a plastic waste-free future”.

Stay tuned for more information on our educational program, created in partnership with WWF Greece. You can also find a digital version of the education resources in the downloads section of our Clean Blue Paros Page.