Beach Plastic Survey Great For Citizen Scientists

Mar 30, 2023 | Environment, Tech

Pages From The Beach Plastics Sampling Booklet

Want to help with beach plastics surveys?

To get a feel for the task, see below pages from The Ocean Cleanup beach sampling booklet. We shall work at three tide levels. Helen and Sarah are the scientists coordinating this new citizen science program for The Ocean Cleanup; I am the local coordinator. When I worked with the company, one of my tasks was to create this document.

No Special Training or Skills Required; Adults and Youths Encouraged.

 

  • A start date has not yet been determined; a late April or May day is the goal.
    Surveys shall be conducted once a month from the same beach location.
  • Approximate beach work time is 2 to 3 hours per visit.
  • Beach venue is TBD; we will pick a nearby Pacific Ocean coastline.
  • Duration of project is minimum 6 months (6 visits).
  • Need not be the same set of volunteers each time. In other words, it is not imperative that you commit to all 6 sessions.
  • A mobile phone with a camera will be needed to take photos of microplastics at each quadrant.

* The Ocean Cleanup volunteer work looks great on a resume.FYI, the referenced link on page 4 in the booklet, https://beachsampling.toc.yt/, is still in staging. Please disregard for now.

  • SEEKING CITIZEN SCIENTISTS TO CONDUCT SURVEYS IN OUTDOOR LOCATION.
  • MEASURE MICROPLASTIC TYPES AND QUANTITIES AT 3 TIDE LEVELS.
  • DATA GATHERED HELPS BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT IS WASHING ONTO SHORE, ITS VOLUME, AGE, DEGRADATION AND MORE.