Save the sea

There’s plastic islands in our oceans! Let’s do our bit save the sea and reduce our plastic use.

Save the sea: war on plastic worksheet

Sadly, all animals can be harmed by plastic in the environment which we think is really upsetting. We should keep their homes safe and save the sea.

Birds and fish can mistake plastic for food when the plastic breaks down into smaller bits. In fact, there’s even trash islands – that’s right, islands made entirely of plastic forming in our oceans! Just google it if you don’t believe us!

Here’s some simple things we can all do to help our planet (and if you want more great information, we’d recommend checking out our friends over at City to Sea)

Visit our water fountains which are all over Bristol to fight against plastic waste.

Recycle dive

So before your recycling goes out, go through your recycle bin. Times all the plastic you see in there by weeks in the year. (Well, if collected weekly which is 53 weeks. Otherwise, go for 26.5!)

Help Squidge dodge the plastic waste!

Oh no! There’s too much in the ocean for Squidge. Press up on your keyboard to begin.

Litter picking kits

So our wonderful friends over at Bristol Waste offer litter picking equipment loans! Head to the Bristol Waste page here for more information.

Bedtime story with local author Michelle Cassar!

Michelle Cassar is a local children’s book author of Seb on Polly Planet, published in Weston Super Mare. Go on, watch below and she’ll read you a book!

Don’t worry, you can watch the other videos over on her channel!

If you care about the environment, you might also like our water saving tips page!

So, are you done here? We hope you learnt something! Head back to learning.

Drink tap water

More than 4 in 10 bottles don’t get recycled 😞

Carry a reusable water bottle with you and check the Refill app for cafes, food outlets and shops to refill your bottle for free. Oh, and if you’re in Bristol city centre, look out for our 10 refill fountains dotted around the city!

Find water boring and like a bit of flavour? Pop in a slice of lemon, cucumber or mint – it’ll taste extra good if you let it infuse overnight.

No straws

And if you really enjoy drinking from a straw, why not get yourself a reusable one? These are often made from metal or bamboo. You can easily carry it in your bag too!

Get a reusable face mask

Or even better – make your own! You could even make one with an old item of clothing. In fact our friends at City to Sea have a tutorial here 

Simply pop them in the wash every few uses. Waste Free Oceans say that the single use sort could take 450 years to break down. We’re sending 1.6billion of them in the UK landfill every single month at the moment

Grow your own!

It’s super rewarding, a good workout and it reduces plastic packaging. What is even better is you can even plant old food scraps and often it will root and grow into a whole new one – wow! 😮

Don’t have a garden? Your family could apply for an allotment with your local council, or you can grow some on your window!

Wear what you have

The most sustainable item of clothing is the one already in your wardrobe” did you know that common clothes fabrics like polyester, nylon and polyamide are all plastic? Why not check your clothing label now…

Want a new look but don’t have the funds and want to help the environment? Get creative! Cut up an old pair of jeans to make some shorts, learn to sew and see what you can make.

Ditch the glitter and metallic wrapping paper

Ditch the glitter and metallic wrapping paper – yes it’s pretty, but it’s made of plastic and not recyclable. Why not save money and get creative by wrapping your gifts in newspaper or parcel paper? You can always decorate it to make it extra special – for example, if you have old fruit, why not dry it and use it to make beautiful decorations? We’ve got this idea from a Jamie Oliver DIY video here (make sure to have an adult help you if you’re using the oven!)

The learning blog