Community Action Project

Institut Gabriel Ferrater i Soler - 2ESO (2022-2023) - REUS / CATALONIA

Less plastic, better water

All throughout the Global Scholars programme this year, we have learnt about the water cycle and water systems, so we have become much more aware of our water footprint and the effects of water pollution both on humans and ecosystems.

We have discovered that water pollution can result in deathly pathogens, bacteria and viruses to be present in drinking water – which is becoming a problem even in wealthier nations in the world, due to uncontrolled water waste.

The plastics we use every day, for example, can end up in our seas and oceans even if we have deposited them correctly in the yellow container. Because plastic is very persistent and easily dispersed, we can find plastics in all corners of the planet, from the Arctic to the Antartida. Once plastic objects reach the sea, they can be ingested by marine fauna and accumulate inside, they can remain suspended or float on the surface, they can finally sink and remain on the seabed, or they can even get trapped in the ice of the Arctic. Plastics have already been found even in the deepest areas, more than 10,000 meters down.

At school, we checked our playground and common areas in search of plastic residues. Since there was quite a lot of litter (basically plastic wrappings and bottles, cardboard, cartons, paper, and aluminium foil), we decided to organise a plogging session to clean up the yard and the garden area around the canteen. So we split up in teams of 3-4 students and walked around for an hour picking up the litter from the ground and writing down the amount of rubbish we collected on a piece of paper. We were amazed to see how much we pollute on a normal day at break time!

Now we realise that rain and wind take our earth litter away to rivers, aquifers, and even to the Mediterranean sea, polluting water for a long, long time. Consequently, we are devoting this project to raise awareness about water pollution and take action against it at school, keeping up with the sustainable development goals in the UN 2030 Agenda.

#6 - Clean water and sanitation: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

#12 - Responsible consumption and production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

#13 - Climate action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

#14 - Life below water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

Project roadmap: ⚠️

Analysis of the main community school challenges facing water pollution through brainstorming and class discussions. We will also prepare a Kahoot! to test the waters.
Plogging session in the school yard and common areas (1 hour) to quickly identify harming water pollutants present in our school facilities and deal with them.
Research the most common water pollutants found at school.
Make proposals to promote reducing, reusing and recycling at school.
Awareness campaign and impact.

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