Save The Med offers free plastic reduction workshops to parents of school students!

Plastic pollution is an alarmingly increasing threat that puts natural, social and economic ecosystems at risk. Save The Med Foundations initiative “Balears Sense Plàstic (BSP)”, which translates to Plastic Free Balearics, seeks to address this problem. It works to inspire a movement for change that involves entities, companies, producers and local authorities in the reduction of plastic use by working together to assess their current use of single use plastics, compare it to alternatives and implement low impact/zero waste options.

The latest initiative launched by Save The Med’s “BSP” and Education teams is a Workshop for parents called “Single use plastic free at home and in school” delivered in collaboration with FAPA Mallorca (The Federation of Associations of Parents of School students).

Save The Med’s has involved thousands of students annually in their hands on education initiatives including the “Dos Manos Schools Programme” and the “Changemakers Project”, during which students aged 10 - 18 learn about the topics of marine regeneration and plastic pollution, conduct citizen science beach cleans and come ip with creative solutions to reduce the use of plastic. Participants of the Changemakers project not only help to raise awareness and create a change in their local communities, but also get a chance to join Save The Med’s science and education team onboard their expeditions at sea.

The participation in the programmes is highly valued by students and teachers alike, and often results in the implementation of changes to reduce plastic pollution in the schools.

“Through these projects we consider that our students, first and foremost, improve as human beings. Secondly, they empower themselves and thirdly, become very well aware of the world around them. Participating in activities on Easter holidays, Christmas holidays, going to collect plastic on the beach, being the ones who lead projects in the school… is what makes us see that for them this is a life long lesson and a way of life. A way of life which they implement in their homes, that we implement in the school, and ultimatelly they become tutors and role models of the younger students who join the school.” - Joana, secondary school teacher, Aula Balear

However, for many students, implementing the new things they’ve learned at home can be challenging, especially if their family and friends are not quite as aware of the issues of plastic pollution as they themselves have become. And even parents that are very well aware of the issues might not always know where to find solutions that work for their household. This new workshop is here to change that!

The workshop aims to support parents of school students and provide tools that enable them to make their children feel understood and supported in their move towards a low impact lifestyle, and invites them to embark on that transformative journey together as a team. The online workshop consists of three parts, two of which are done independently previous to the online workshop:

Part 1: (previous to the workshop):
An informative video will be provided to the families by Save The Med. The video presents the project, teaches about the impact of single-use plastics on the environment and poses questions related to possible solutions to the issue.

Past 2: (previous to the workshop):
A questionnaire will be distributed to each family in which they will list their most commonly used single use plastics. The results obtained will help shape the content and design of the online workshop. Participants will be asked to bring some of these products to the online workshop.

Part 3: (during the online workshop):
With their new knowledge and questionnaire results, together with the STM team participants will analyse the negative impact caused by the single-use plastics used in their homes and schools, and alternatives to these products will be proposed and discussed. The STM team will present a tailor made comparison chart that numerically shows what the impact would be if the participants replaced their most commonly used single use items for zero waste alternatives as well as provide information on where on the island different types of zero waste products can be obtained. Together the participants will develop their own “Best Practice Guidelines” and a solutions infographic to use as a tool in the reduction of single use plastics in their homes and schools.
Contact tupa@savethemed.org to learn more and to sign your parent association up to the workshop! Limited availability!