The EGCP’s Turning the Plastic Tide project has been up and running since 2018, organising beach cleans and promoting the health of East Grampian beaches. One of the main goals of the project is an educational aspect, aiming to engage children and young people in the conservation of their coastal and marine environments (Smith and Dunkley, 2024 a). This engagement has been ongoing in many forms:

Beach Cleans
School pupils and Youth Groups members were the 2nd most common type of volunteer of 2024 TTPT cleans, with 374 individuals taking part. 11 different schools and 2 youth groups took part over the year, across 13 different cleans (Smith and Dunkley, 2024 b). These events are great fun for children and young people, offering a combination of environmental education, teamworking experience, and a fun day out enjoying their local environment. 

Educational Sessions
Another major component of the TTPT project is the provision of education sessions to students from primary to college age. In 2024, 23 educational sessions on marine litter were given, helping to support schools and youth groups in delivering environmental and conservation education (Smith and Dunkley, 2024 a). Such topics are known to be under taught in schools, making these sessions all the more important for engaging the next generation in the issues facing their environment (Smith and Dunkley, 2024 a). 

These sessions were also delivered at public events, such as this year’s Tech Fest at RGU. More than 200 primary pupils attended sessions over the festival, offering an introduction to coastal topics that will hopefully foster an interest in the subject (Smith and Dunkley, 2024 a).

Public Outreach Events 
In addition to formal educational sessions, the TTPT team attends a variety of public events throughout the year. This year, the team held stalls at events such as the Aberdeen Science Centre Discovery Day, the Ellon Christmas Market, and the Sand Bothy Summer Family Day (Smith and Dunkley, 2024 a). These stalls allow families to learn about marine litter, coastal conservation, the TTPT project, and how they can get involved (Smith and Dunkley, 2024 a).

How to Get Involved:
Should a TTPT event sound interesting to you, your organisation, or your school, please reach out! Various methods of contacting us are listed below:

• Email: 
   TTPT Project Manager Lauren Smith: lauren.smith@egcp.org.uk
   TTPT Project Officer Lauren Dunkley: lauren.dunkley@egcp.org.
•  Eventbrite:
   https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/turning-the-plastic-tide-57209531943
   All public events are advertised here 
•  Facebook:
   https://www.facebook.com/TTPTnortheast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ttptnortheast/utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw%3D%3D
•  Bluesky: 
   https://bsky.app/profile/ttptnortheast.bsky.social
•  LinkedIn: 
   https://www.linkedin.com/company/turning-the-plastic-tide/?viewAsMember=true 

To learn more about the litter collected by the TTPT project, or the volunteers who get involved, please see the respective pages.

All data is provided by Lauren Smith and Lauren Dunkley