Trash in oceans has serious consequences for all living things on Earth (oceanconservancy.org). Spending time cleaning up environments around you can make a big difference in the health of our planet. During Coastal Clean-Up month, people are challenged to not only clean up their local areas, but also to document the trash using the Marine Debris Tracker app.

The Marine Debris Tracker (also known as Debris Tracker) project helps people of all ages from all around the world collect observations about where litter appears – not just near water — to create a data-driven understanding about hotspots and patterns of pollution. This data contributes to maps used by researchers globally to understand this issue.

The Taking Environmental Action with Youth: Helping Our Oceans One Piece of Trash at a Time webinar was hosted by NGCP on September 7, 2021. In this webinar recording, speakers working with the Aleut Community of St. Paul in Alaska and members of the SciStarter team share strategies, reflections, and resources for supporting youth to act as citizen scientists and environmental advocates in their communities.