Wales

A group of creative media studies students with learning difficulties from Coleg Cymoedd, a further education college in South East Wales are taking part in YRE. The qualification has a research unit and a film making unit so taking part in YRE fits in particularly well with their learning objectives. Students took part in a YRE workshop outlining the problems of litter and an initial planning session for their YRE film. The tutor will carry on planning and developing their films with them. They also went on a visit to a local beach to witness first hand the effects of marine litter on our environment. The visit was enjoyed by all and they were intrigued by the amount of micro plastics found on the beach. These students are a great example of how YRE can inspire and involve all educational abilities.

Malta

On Wednesday 28th November at about 11:30 the Eko Skola and 3A, 4A, 5A students joined up together for St Lucia clean up event. From our school we walked to St Lucia local council to get gloves, pickers, garbage bags and recycling bags. We started cleaning round the playground and football ground area. We found may plastic bottles, cigarettes, lighters, tin cans, cartons, glass, paper, make-up, small piece of tile, parts of a fans, tin box, jablo, kids toys and ceramic flowers. We were surprised and appalled at the kind of rubbish that people decide to toss on the ground, instead of in a bin!! In all, we collected 16 green garbage bags and one black garbage bag, which contained mixed waste.   This activity made us aware of the need to keep our environment clean and that it really does not take much to put your waste in a bin!

A giant Christmas Tree was made our of collected plastic bottles to spread awareness on how to reuse material, and at the same time draw attention on the amount of bottles we are throwing away.

Read the news in the “Times of malta”.

Malta

In a bid to raise awareness of their campaign "From plastics to microplastics", students from Our Lady Immaculate school Hamrun held a debate on the issue.  A local TV presenter was invited to lead the debate, while speakers from various NGOs working on litter were invited to give their views.  All students were given a reusable straw - thus making it possible to refuse straws when going out.  On a different occasion a speaker from Birdlife spoke to year 4 and year 6 students about effects of plastic on the environment with special focus to birds.

As part of the same campaign, students have also eliminated use of disposable cups in the school - they urged the public to give them any mugs that they did not need - and now are fully supplied to cater to events without having to revert to disposables. 

Northern Ireland

Last November in collaboration with BBC Northern Ireland School Report Team, the Eco-Schools team organised two workshops to enable post-primary school pupils aged 11-19 to better understand journalistic techniques of written-, video- and photo-reportage, before taking off with their YRE projects for the 2019 campaign. All Northern Ireland post-primary schools were invited to take part to these two events. The response was successful: of the total of schools registered for this year’s YRE programme, 75% of them attended the events, with over 90 pupils participating in the 1-day workshops in Lisburn and Magherafelt.

Northern Ireland

A conference in Dublin’s Croke Park, looking at the Sustainable Development Goals and how Eco-Schools work supports the SDGsn was a big achievement for the two winners of last year’s YRE video competition. Pupils Max and Josh Kamalarajah, from Wallace High School, Northern Ireland, attended and presented their YRE video on food waste while discussing SDG2 “Zero Hunger”. The 160 attendees were blown away by the boy’s video and their professional presentation skills. Read our interview to the Wallace boys.

Spain

On March 4, 2019, the celebration of the Community Action Day took place at the Santa Rafaela SAFA EEPP of Pedro Abad (Córdoba). This day aimed to raise awareness among students and families of the importance of recycling and the proper management of waste. The conference given to the Young Reporters for the Environment and the rest of the students of the educational center focused on highlighting the interconnection between the different environmental problems.

The students were also able to present the journalistic works carried out within the Litter Less Campaign, which focused on measures by the municipality to detect improperly discharged garbage. The students were surprised by the large amount of waste produced and discharged into the environment. With all the photographs taken by the students, they made a photographic exhibition, to which the mayor of the municipality was invited and in which she was able to find out which were the most degraded places in the town. A process of joint reflection was carried out with the mayor, who gave ideas to improve and resolve the situation.

Spain

The students of the CEIP La Inmaculada or Salar (Granada) conducted an investigation on the state of conservation of the river that runs through the municipality, as they detected near the school a pipeline that discharged untreated wastewater directly into the river, leaving in its riversides numerous waste and garbage. 

To make this situation known and inform the population, the students decided to take action. First, they carried out a survey among the neighbors to know the degree of awareness and knowledge. Secondly, they conducted an interview with the Mayor of the town to express the seriousness of the situation, and finally, they organized a demonstration to demand measures to improve the environmental quality of the river. 

During the interview, the Mayor confirmed to the students that currently the wastewater is discharged directly into the river without being treated. According to his words, the municipality has done everything possible; however the resources of the Government of Andalusia are insufficient, since there are many sewage treatment plants that still have to be done. Meanwhile, the population continues paying fines for non-compliance with the European Directive. From the City Council they say that they are doing their best to solve this situation, and thank the students for investigating and informing the population.

China

In order to strengthen students' awareness of environmental protection and energy saving, Xinghe Experimental Primary School carried out garbage reduction publicity and learning activities. To guide students start classifying garbage, recycling and reducing paper waste, and protecting the environment from their own in daily life.

On March 14, a variety of recyclable bins appeared in the classes of Xinghe Experimental Primary School, divided into paper recycling bins and plastic and metal recycling bins. While the original trash bins in the classroom were used as non-recyclable bins. Under the guidance of senior students, junior students understand the significance and basic knowledge of garbage reduction. At noon, the children took part in the garbage reduction signature event in the Starbucks Square, and engraved their determination with tender strokes ‘garbage reduction, starting from me’. At the parent-teacher meeting in the evening , parents also show their support on signature cloths.

Garbage reduction is a major project of far-reaching significance for the benefit of future generations, which requires the participation of us all. The children of Xinghe call on everyone to join hands, consciously classify the garbage to protect the beautiful Mother Earth.

New Zealand

St Peter’s College in New Zealand carried out waste audits and discovered that plastic film wrap formed a significant waste item and was also a common littered item at school.

The environmental group aims to produce Beeswax wraps student use in the school to eliminate the need to use clingfilm wrap in school lunches. The immediate priority will be to distribute them to the Year 7 students and they will offer incentives in the form of house points each time the student uses the beeswax wrap in their lunchbox. The ultimate aim is to provide beeswax wraps and educate all students in the school about the sustainability of using the wraps.

The college will survey the grounds and property management team as to the reduction in the amount of clingfilm by students. Waste audits will be conducted before and after the programme to assess the decline in the use of clingfilm.

St Peter’s College have also implemented many projects with a focus on sustainability this year. They changed the school bin system and then implemented a program to inform the staff and students of how the new bin system worked. The school reduced waste to landfill by approx. 1.5 tonnes (Feb 2017 vs. Feb 2018)

Students produced a poster using the packaging and products sold by the school tuck shop to inform students as to the correct bin for each type of waste.

The school also began the Adopt-An-Area program where each house was given responsibility for a particular area of school in the effort to keep the school rubbish free.

At the School Fair, the students built waste stations to increase recycling and reduce the amount going into landfill.

Students have also begun a project with the school Edmund Rice group. A raised vegetable bed was installed and worm farms purchased using a grant from Auckland Council. The vegetables grown will be donated to the Auckland City Mission.

Lastly, the school introduced a Golden Ticket promotion: in an attempt to get students to actually notice litter “Golden Tickets” containing various prizes were hidden around the school at rubbish “hotspots”.

MALTA

Uploaded by Ramona Mercieca on 2017-12-07.

NEW ZEALAND

In 2018 St Peter’s College in New Zealand implemented a large number of Litter Less activities, which focused on sustainability. They changed the school bin system and then implemented a programme to inform the staff and students on how the new bin system worked. The school reduced waste to landfill by approx. 1.5 tonnes. Students also produced a poster using the packaging and products sold by the school tuck-shop to inform students about the correct bin for each type of waste.

Moreover, they built waste stations to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste going into landfill and began a planting project. They installed a raised vegetable bed and worm farms, and the vegetables grown were donated to the Auckland City Mission.

The most popular initiative was the ‘Golden Ticket promotion’: In an attempt to get students to actually notice litter, ‘Golden Tickets’ containing various prizes were hidden around the school at rubbish ‘hotspots’. 

NEW ZEALAND

Kairanga School held an Environmental Community Action Day which involved all the participating YRE students planning and running the event.

The students tidied the wetlands area by the school, built a worm farm, planted trees, fruits and vegetables and were shown how to plant clippings in used yogurt bottles. Students were also introduced to the concept of litter less lunches and educated about recycling and how to use scrap buckets in the school. The school conducted a Clean Up Event and created a mural highlighting the effect of litter on oceans.

On the day, students were encouraged to dress up in recyclable or environmentally friendly costumes for a chance to win badges and spot prizes donated by KNZB.

AUSTRALIA

Students were invited to participate in a workshop at Reverse Garbage, a creative reuse centre that teaches alternative ways to reduce waste and creates change in the way resources are looked at. They were taught to turn waste into works of art. They created their own artwork through a process of experimentation with everyday discards.

Students also learnt innovative low-waste construction techniques (the workshop is tape-free and glue-free) and an understanding of material manipulation, experimentation and repetition. They developed problem-solving skills in art, design and visual realization.

Among the fantastic creations, there was a very effective one of a turtle entangled in net. Not only did it represent a very topical issue related to marine pollution we are facing currently, but the creation itself was made with the discarded items most present on our oceans, e.g. bottle tops, plastic straws, disposable cutlery and produce net mesh bags.

SPAIN

A campaign named "REDUCE" was launched in December in the Menéndez Pelayo Secondary School of Getafe (Madrid), in order to raise awareness in the educational community on the meaning and importance of reducing waste. The idea is to promote concrete actions on different ways to reduce waste.

On the Community Action Day, the teachers arrived at the center wearing yellow vests and chanting the slogan "This cannot continue like this". During the recess, they surprised everyone by playing music from the roof top. When the students looked at the roof, the professors displayed a large canvas with the slogan ‘REDUCE’. Students, teachers and families participated in identifying what should be improved in the schools.

Moreover, from the 22nd of November to the 7th of December, plastic garbage was gathered. A total of two bags of 100 litres of pressed “yellow” garbage was collected.

MALTA

YRE AND ECO-SCHOOLS STUDENTS UNITED IN MALTA TO RAISE AWARENESS ON LITTER POLLUTION

In most cases, YRE and Eco-Schools join forces. As a committee, the Eco-Schools conduct the campaign and work to raise awareness. The reporters report on what the school is doing. The teachers often include the Litter Less Campaign in their language lessons, IT, Math and Environmental studies.  Schools with media students are including the campaign in their routine work. Other schools opt to leave it as extra curricular, depending on the students.

One particular school invited a popular TV presenter in Malta to conduct a debate on litter. The students contributed in the investigation, research, and promotion phases. And the YRE students reported the event.

Another school worked closely with the local council to clean up the village and raise awareness through boards, adding more bins to the village and engaging with the local shop vendors. For Christmas, a giant Christmas tree was built out of plastic bottles.

Additionally, all schools participating in the campaign were invited to attend an informative session about litter and its consequences, followed by a turtle release - where 3 injured turtles were release back into the wild.  After the workshops and the release, the students also participated in a clean up on the beach, with particular focus on micro-plastics 

AUSTRALIA

In Australia, the Litter Less Campaign was a success, and the students worked hard to produce good quality submissions. The highlight of the campaign certainly is the enthusiasm of the students and their admirable effort put into spreading the ever-important message that littering is never okay.

Through participating in this programme, the students have gained a deep understanding of the scope of a number of environmental issues and the consequences of human action at a local, national, and international scale

NEW ZEALAND

St Peter’s College has implemented many projects with a focus on sustainability this year. They changed the school bin system and then implemented a programme to inform the staff and students of how the new bin system worked. The school reduced waste to landfill by approx. 1.5 tonnes (Feb 2017 vs. Feb 2018).

Students produced a poster using the packaging and products sold by the school tuckshop to inform students as to the correct bin for each type of waste. The school also began the “Adopt-An-Area” programme where each house was given responsibility for a particular area of the school in the effort to keep the school rubbish free.

Students have also begun a project with the school Edmund Rice group. A raised vegetable bed was installed and worm farms purchased using a grant from Auckland Council. The vegetables grown will be donated to the Auckland City Mission.  

Lastly, the school introduced a Golden Ticket promotion: In an attempt to get students to actually notice litter, “Golden Tickets” containing various prizes were hidden around the school at rubbish “hotspots”.

MALTA

Gozo College Middle School started the Campaign with a clean-up in Gozo where students became more aware of the amounts of litter in the area. Articles about the clean-up were published in local newspapers (see e.g. Times of Malta) and students were invited on local TV programmes. 

The school also focused on how to reduce waste by reusing materials for various items. The students in Year 7 and Year 8 brought used glass jars to be reused in school. These students were involved in making carob syrup and reused glass jars and other items for packaging during the school year. Hardly any new material was used for the whole project in packaging the products produced by the students themselves. Used wooden boxes from shops were used to hold jars in. The packaging was designed by the students themselves making use only of old/used materials.

The eco-school committee has teamed up with all year 7 students and through an entrepreneurship project worked on Green Business with the main aim being that of reducing litter. Recycled materials such as glass jars, milk cartons, tin lids, glass bottles and wood pellets were transformed into innovative useful products.

Last but not least, all students, teachers and school staff were given a free stainless steel travel cup to use instead of disposable cups, both for cold and hot drinks, therefore saving  the production of disposable cups, as well as helping to reduce litter. The travel cups were sponsored by the Litter Less funds.

NORTHERN IRELAND

National Winners Workshop

The event announced the winners nationally and internationally. The winning videos were played and prizes were presented by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful staff and a Wrigley Representative. The pupils then had a historical and environmental talk about the location of the event, Kilkeel Harbour, and everyone then completed a clean-up at the local beach.

IRELAND

National Winners Workshop

The National Winners workshop was the highlight of the campaign. Students traveled from the whole country to share their ideas and engage in a hands-on workshop.

The workshop and award ceremony was split into four sections over the course of the day with complementary approaches to the litter and waste theme taking place:

• An introduction to Ireland's new recycling list including an interactive presentation on what the correct materials are to go in to the green recycling bin.
• A writer's masterclass given by Sylvia Thompson Environmental Features Writer for the Irish Times. 
• A hands-on workshop on SDG 12 - Sustainable Consumption and Production designed specifically for the YRE Litter Less Campaign and delivered by Valerie Lewis, formerly of Irish Aid.
• Presentations of the winning articles, videos and photos with presentation of awards by Leah Mullaley of Keeling, the Wrigley representative company in Ireland.