Glynn Middle Featured in NOAA's Article "Planet vs Plastics"

With support from NOAA Planet Stewards, University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grantoffsite link are working with Glynn Middle School students in Brunswick, Georgia, to remove potential marine debris from a sensitive salt marsh habitat along a highly traveled highway. High coastal winds and tides often sweep litter from the area into the local salt marsh, a coastal wetland that provides intertidal habitat essential for healthy fisheries, coastlines, and communities. The project plans to prevent 18 acres of salt marsh habitat degradation by removing at least 2,000 pieces of marine debris from the school’s property and the surrounding marsh. They also plan to remove at least 1,000 pieces of marine debris from a 160-acre area of the larger Brunswick community and coastal environment during a community-wide cleanup event in June 2024. In addition to removing marine debris, the program is educating the students to be aware of their plastic consumption and introducing creative ways to reduce plastic use and waste, recycle and upcycle plastics, and lessen their impact on the marine ecosystem.

 

Pictured: Glynn Middle School Eco-Club facilitator Katy Smith guides two young participants through a hands-on activity about pollution in coastal waters including oil spills and microplastics.