Feel, Act! to Stop Marine Litter: Lesson plans and activities for middle school learners

The educational material “Know Feel Act! To Stop Marine Litter” has been prepared to inform, sensitise and enable European teachers and students to take action to tackle the problem of litter in our seas and coasts. It is a joint product of the MARLISCO partnership and within the project duration (2012-2015) it is expected to be translated and applied in the 15 partner countries. It contains 17 learning activities examining the characteristics, sources, effects and possible ways to tackle the problem, addressing it from an environmental, societal, cultural and economic point of view. It has been designed to primarily serve youth aged 10-15 yrs, but can be used also by educators outside the formal schooling system. Formal and non-formal educators are invited to use this material as a tool to develop observation, curiosity, imagination, creativity and action skills to young learners, on the topic of marine litter, and not only: in line with the principles of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the material views marine litter as a piece of the wider picture of today’s environment and sustainability challenges. Bottom line, using as a “vehicle” the tangible issue of marine litter the authors aspire that the material will prove useful in talking about more subtle issues having to do with the prevailing production and consumption models of our modern societies, and ultimately help in shaping the informed, critical thinker, and active citizen of the future.