Microplastic Watchers is an educational project run by the Museu Marítim de Barcelona, the Institut de Ciències del Mar-CSIC and the Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes-CSI, which is based on the marine citizen science platform Observadors del Mar (Observers of the Sea).
The platform promotes collaboration between citizens and the scientific community on marine conservation. The project is a response to the need to generate knowledge to understand the impact on the marine environment of processes such as global warming, the introduction of exotic species and the pressure of certain human activities.
Early stages of the project
The project was launched in 2017 following concerns about the increasing accumulation of micro plastic waste in the marine environment. The purpose of the project was to increase awareness about the problems generated by this type of waste, diagnosing what is happening on the beaches and therefore helping to find solutions.
Initially, the project was intended to involve schools, with the students forming part of the scientific team. The community gradually expanded by adding new schools, while others repeated the experience, until it was extended to more than 25 beaches along the Catalan and Balearic coasts. This growth led to the creation of a network of coordinating bodies that became benchmark sites along the different stretches of the coastline.
The Museu Marítim signed up to the project from the outset with a pilot test in 2016. Over the past 8 years, 3,412 pupils from 78 schools in the city of Barcelona and nearby towns have taken part in the project.
These experiences have resulted in high school research projects, Aprenentatge i Servei (Learning and Service ) projects, joint meetings and awareness-raising activities both inside and outside the schools.
An educational tool available to schools
The positive feedback about the project has produced a set of educational material to help schools work on the issue of microplastics on beaches, based on a process of investigation described in a teaching guide.
This material is designed to inspire autonomous work and can serve as a seed for new transformative experiences, which we would be grateful if you would share with us.
