Hi all. I thought I would do a short blog on Bag the Bruck. It is summer here so the weather is perfect for getting outside and cleaning up a little. There is a lot in the news at the minute about the problem of plastic waste and how the world might go about solving it, so it is an interesting time to be thinking about this.
Once you have watched the blog I have a few questions for below that you might think about. I also went through my pictures from the Christmas holiday and found pictures that I took of penguins that were unfortunately in close proximity to plastic in their habitat. You can see them below.
Do you know why reducing plastic waste in nature is important?
Can you think of a way of reducing the waste on beaches, both here and in Orkney?
Can you think of ways of reducing your class’s plastic use in a normal week?
Hello Mr Ross.How are you doing.You look like you've been busy lately.Our class are trying to persuade schools in Orkney not to use straws, plastic cups, paper plates, paper cups and plastic cutlery.You done a very good job at bag the bruck you got extremely small pieces i couldn't see much bruck on the beach but you got a whole bag well done. By Dan
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great project Dan! You're right, most of the bruck on that beach was quite small, but it is all a problem. The smaller the piece, the more likely animals are to accidentally eat it.
DeleteI am doing fine thanks! Because it is summer here I actually have five more days of school holiday remaining before the new term starts! Not bad eh!
Best, Mr Ross
Hello Mr Ross, how are you dong? Can you guess how many pieces of plastic you picked up!? How far away is your house from that beach? While you were there dd you see any birds? We all miss you.
ReplyDeleteFrom Hermone
Hi Hermione, I am well thank you!
DeleteI'm not sure exactly how many pieces, maybe 100. Eventually the big pieces break down in to smaller and smaller pieces and this is when it becomes even more dangerous for the small fish and animals that may ingest it.
I live about 3 miles away from that beach, there is a beach closer to me, but when the tide is in it is entirely covered in water. There is a lot of wildlife lives around there (the two penguins in the Christmas blog, a family of ducks with ducklings and I have seen terns similar to those we see in Orkney down there. I am sure there is lots of life under the water too that I have never seen).
All the best, Mr Ross
we love watching your videos we think its a great idea for us to do a protect maybe if something like that where you are you can do it as well we are very interested in what you are doing now is it any different teaching ways there? :) Kirsty
ReplyDeleteHi Kirsty,
DeleteI really look forward to hearing how you get on with your project! I'm sure you will make a class blog post about it at some point that I can read.
The school I teach in is not so different to Glaitness. One thing that is different is that we have two year 4 classes, (with over 50 children in total!), so the school is a bit larger. This is nice because it means I get to spend some time teaching both classes. Sometimes I actually get to teach the same lesson twice, first to one class, and then the other! Normally the lesson ends up being better second time round!
Nice to hear from you all, Mr Ross
It is shocking how much bruck is on the beach. Was there more rubbish still on the beach when you were finished?
ReplyDeleteArchie P6/7
Yes Archie, unfortunately, when I was walking back to the car I spotted even more plastic on the same part of the beach that I had already looked at! It is hard to spot all of it. I think sometimes we are SO used to seeing bruck on the beach that we ignore it even when we are looking for it like I was.
DeleteAll the best, Mr Ross
hi Mr Ross i think you doing bag the bruck was a great idea because in the pictures of the penguins it looked like there was lots of litter around Anna
ReplyDeleteHi Anna, the beach with the penguins probably was not so bad compared to some other beaches. BUT what was surprising is that that beach was miles and miles from anywhere. There is no way the bottles in those pictures were put there by local people, they have come from a long way away. The beach in the video above is a bit different because it is at the end of the bay where the town is, so some of it probably is local bruck...
DeleteAll the best, Mr Ross
Its horrible how much litter you find on beaches. And all that is made by us. Kavan P6/7
ReplyDeleteYou're right Kavan, it's not great to think about is it.
DeleteMr Ross
ps. many thanks to your brother for the card!
That might have been what the penguins were thinking.I am shocked at how much litter there was in one beach! I hope people stop littering. That was a lot of straws. Kieran
ReplyDeleteWell, it might have been... I imagine most of them were just thinking "fish fish fish fish fish fish fish fish fish fish".
DeleteI hope people stop littering too.
All the best,
It was fun seeing all the rubbish you picked up on the beach is it cold in the summer or not. Katie p 6\7
ReplyDeleteHi Katie,
DeleteIt has been a really lovely summer here. Lots of warm sunny days. I am not looking forward to it getting darker as we move towards your summer time though. It will be very strange having July in the darkness!
Best, Mr Ross
a lot of fish fish fish fish fish fish fish
ReplyDeleteThat is good that you help to clean the beach. that was a lot of rubbish you collected how many beaches are you hoping to clean up? leona
ReplyDeleteHi Leona, I'll try to make you another video soon focusing on a different beach and we will see if the bruck varies from beach to beach.
DeleteAll the best for now.
Hi Tim - those straws/sticks are probably cotton bud stems... :(
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I think you are likely right...
Delete