This term we have looked at the impact of plastic on the environment. All we have to do is look out our classroom window to see all the plastic packaging and wrapping that gets left on the ground, to know that plastic is a BIG problem!
Learning about the Effects of Plastic
As part of our research, we looked at how long it takes different plastic items to decompose. This chart on sciencelearn.org.nz was an eye opener and we realised we had grossly underestimated times.
One of our tasks was to create a timeline the width of our classroom. There were certainly a few mumbles when pegging it up and finding somewhere to keep it while we wrote on it! But it helped us to visualise the time it takes items to decompose in relation to our life span and major historical events.
Then we talked turtles. Why??? It was part of our research on how sea life is affected by plastic. It really hit home about how when we throw out our plastic bags we don't often think about what happens to them. Out goes the rubbish, then it just disappears. Out of sight out of mind.
A few youtube videos later, we realised how plastic gets into the oceans, and turtles end up nibbling on plastic bags they mistaken for jelly fish. Too late to realise their life threatening error, the plastic blocks up their digestive system causing them to float on the ocean surface. Bobbing away on the waves, they die a slow death by starvation, unable to dive to food. Very tragic and very disheartening.
As a reminder to us all to consider where our plastic can end up, we adopted a virtual pet turtle on our blog. A small and insignificant gesture maybe, but nevertheless a reminder.
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