From growing its presence in Greece to making a debut in Barbados, our Education Programme is proving its potential to educate and empower the citizens of tomorrow to continue the battle against plastic pollution.
From its initial foothold on the island of Paros, translated as one of the resources used in our community toolkits, interest in Plastic Clever Schools across Greece has rocketed.
Starting with 12 schools at the beginning of the year, the programme quickly expanded after a successful educators' webinar, co-hosted with the Evoia municipality. This webinar attracted 20 more schools, and, with regular media coverage and excitement building around the International Day of Action, our Greek membership soared to 165 schools by the end of the year.
Plastic Clever Schools also made its Caribbean debut this year, launching alongside the newly minted National Action Plan to End Plastic Pollution in
Barbados. We tailored our education materials for the Caribbean, with special note of the Barbados National Action Plan.
The program was showcased at a summer camp, where children conducted a marine litter audit on nearby beaches. Confronted with the realities of plastic
waste, the children were inspired by the impact on their country. Even the most sceptical were persuaded to join the cause. The addition of these resources will allow us to extend our reach across the region, complementing our policy work with Caribbean islands.
The high point of the year was our first International Day of Action, starting a wave of youth action against plastic pollution.
Led by beacon schools in the UK, Greece, and Barbados, 430 schools participated in this worldwide initiative. Over the weeks beforehand, over 90 teachers took part in webinars, to build their understanding of plastic pollution and to prepare for the day’s activities.
The day centred around a synchronized litter audit across 27 countries, building first-hand understanding of the types of waste entering schools’ local environments. This was complemented by live youth assemblies and workshops from renowned marine biologist and filmmaker Inka Cresswell, Kids Against Plastic founder Amy Meek, and youth climate activist Inaaya Ijaz.
This event was a resounding success, engaging nearly 22,000 children and registering 197 new schools to Plastic Clever Schools. In the weeks that followed, plasticcleverschools.co.uk received over 500 submissions of actions taken by children on their journey to becoming Plastic Clever. In total, there are now 1,265 schools in the programme, around a fifth of them spread internationally across 38 countries.
The international interest in the programme has set the stage for an ambitious international outlook in 2025. There is a clear link between the 10-year policy timeframe for government action plans and the need to educate and empower the citizens of the future.
In 2025, we plan to develop a global template version of our resources, and complete further translations, making it quicker and more affordable to adapt them for new regions. This will enable us to kick start the programme in at least two new countries in 2025 and support our next International Day of Action.
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