Ocean’s Deadliest Catch: Duu-wat cha Si’~s-xu

Marine debris, especially plastics, are transported through the watershed via wind and water currents. Eventually, they end up in the ocean where they have a direct negative impact on marine life and an indirect negative impact on human life.

In this lesson, students will collect debris on their school grounds,“x” number of miles from the ocean and compare the quantity of plastic in the sample with a similar sample at the mouth of the river, where it empties into the ocean. In addition, students will build and deploy marine drifters at a place along the river and retrieve them at the mouth of the river, to determine how long it might take a piece of debris to travel to the ocean when it enters at a location near their school.

Authors: Pat Whetstone, Ruth McDonald; EARTH 2010

Lesson Resources

• PowerPoint | Lesson Plan