One Ocean Adventures
On Friday 4 October, a group of Upper Third pupils were invited alongside other local schools, to the launch of the second year of the KBR One Ocean project. The global school project, is an initiative to give pupils a deep understanding of plastic pollution and understand how engineering can make a difference.
Pupils were excited to visit Brighton beach, for a morning of learning in the British Airways i360 conference centre. Claire Potter provided an inspiring talk about her background including developing the ‘Plastic Free Pledge’. Claire highlighted astonishingly how over 8.9 million tons of plastic enter our oceans every year, and this equates to a garbage truck full every minute. Claire described the different types and sources of plastics, and the problems they create.
Clare Osborn introduced the second half of the morning, and how as an adventurer she is pioneering positive change – including her podcast, and being part of the Oceans 8 team in Brighton. Clare discussed with pupils how important it is for us to protect what we love, and what the future can look like if we all make steps towards positive change – this included a fantastic example of how we can all make a difference with ‘The Starfish Theory’.
Pupils competed in teamwork challenges, including a lost at sea game, before being instructed on how to safely complete a beach clean in the afternoon.
The afternoon was spent taking part in a Silent Disco Beach Clean, whereby St John’s pupils were eager to gather as much rubbish and plastics as they could. Pupils were proud to have collected a great amount of rubbish and we were delighted that our pupils were in two of the winning teams, and worked well to find even the smallest pieces.