On the 2nd of March 2022, a pivotal moment occurred when heads of UN Member nations came together to endorse negotiations towards the first international Treaty on Plastic Pollution. Clearly, plastic pollution is at the forefront of concern and the impacts of microplastics are especially topical as effects on ecosystems and human health are still unresolved. Using tested methodologies from existing literature, the Micro-Investigators programme adapts a straightforward, inexpensive, and accessible methodology for sampling rivers and isolating microplastics in the lab. The goal is to present a simple and standardised approach that can be easily applied by students, empowering communities through environmental education, Māori indigenous values and wisdom and raising awareness of waterways microplastics pollution. From 2020 to 2023, the Micro-Investigators programme engaged eight primary schools in the Southland region in coordination with Southland Enviroschools and with support of local councils (Environment Southland, WasteNet Southland) and community groups. Students from three high schools were involved in the lab sessions and were facilitated by tertiary students from the Te Pūkenga / Southern Institute of Technology. Presence of microplastics was detected in nine waterways across Southland. The data was published on the Micro-Investigators website and is freely available to the public. The student-led model based on tuakana-teina framework and reach across different levels of education further extends the ethos of citizen science. Six microplastics sampling kits are rolling out, which would assist the community with sampling for microplastics independently, moving towards an autonomous sampling programme – a hallmark of a good citizen science project. By investigating the presence of microplastics in local waterways, this environmental action-based programme seeks to ‘make the invisible visible’, demystify science, and raise young people’s awareness of the problem.
Rani Fernandez, Programme Manager, Environmental Management, Te Pūkenga/Southern Institute of Technology
Seethal Sivarajan, Karen Luttrell
Christine Liang