Laura Kroeker’s Grade 9 class from Fernie Secondary School took a deep dive into the world of waste and plastic last week. Led by Wildsight educator, Janelle Park, they looked at the impact of plastics on the earth, its water and oceans. Researching topics like microplastics, straws and other single use plastics, the students created infographics to show not only the problem, but also potential solutions. They hung their infographics around the school to share their learnings.
Later, they went out to Maiden Lake armed with gloves, nets and chest waders and cleaned up 40 pounds of garbage! Maiden Lake is heavily used for recreation and is connected to the Elk River water system. The students mostly found cigarette butts, plastic bags, food wrappers, plastic utensils, straws, stir sticks and small broken up pieces of plastic.
“This project was really about looking at a global problem on a local level and empowering students to make change,” says Wildsight educator, Janelle Park.
The initiative was a Student Action Project, an important part of Know Your Watershed, a program of the Columbia Basin Trust, administered and delivered by Wildsight.
