IN THE NEWS – NURDLES

 

NURDLES IN OUR RIVER – CLICK THIS LINK TO READ ABOUT IT

Here is a summary of the article – thanks to Chat GPT for helping me.

 NURDLES are small plastic pellets that are used to make many of the plastic things we use every day, like bottles and car parts. Unfortunately, nurdles often end up in our oceans and rivers, and they can be very harmful to the animals that live there.

Some local people are organizing beach cleanups in Perth, Australia, to try and remove as many nurdles as possible from Bathers Beach and Minim Cove. They want to see how many nurdles are there, and what kind of danger they might pose to the environment.

Nurdles are a big problem all over the world. In fact, in 2022, 90% of global beach cleanups found nurdles. In Australia, there are over 2,400 sites that have been affected by nurdle spills. 

Nurdles are dangerous because they can absorb toxic chemicals and look like food to animals. They often end up in their stomachs. Around 230,000 tons of nurdles end up in our oceans every year, which is just as bad as a big oil spill.

Even though nurdles are so harmful, they’re not considered dangerous by the International Maritime Organization’s dangerous goods code, which is a problem. Spills happen all the time, and lots of nurdles end up in the ocean where they don’t belong.

Sea Shepherd Australia is organizing some beach cleanups to remove as many nurdles as possible, and they’re encouraging everyone to be mindful of how much plastic they use and to properly dispose of it.

So if you’re in Perth, Australia, and you want to help out, there are some upcoming beach cleanups you can join. On March 12th, there’s a cleanup at Bathers Beach, and on March 26th, there’s one at Minim Cove. And from October 14th-17th, there’s a bigger beach cleanup happening all over Western Australia.

We all have a responsibility to take care of our planet and the animals that call it home. 

 

A SUMMARY OF THE DATA IN THE ARTICLE:

  • 90% of global beach cleanups in 2022 found nurdles.

 

  • The Australian Marine Debris Database lists over 2400 sites affected by nurdle spills.

 

  • In 2022, over 300,000 nurdles drifted up to Minim Cove alone.

 

  • Around 230,000 tons of nurdles end up in oceans each year, which is equivalent to well-documented global oil spills.

 

  • In 2019, 343 containers of pellets spilled into the North Sea.

 

  • In 2020, a broken container on the cargo ship MV Trans Carrier lost 10 tonnes of pellets, which polluted the coasts of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

 

  • A second spill in 2020 occurred in South Africa that affected up to 2000 km of coastline, and about 37 tonnes of nurdles are still unaccounted for.

 

  • In May 2021, the container ship X-Press Pearl caught fire and sank in the Indian Ocean, and the most harm from the accident came from the spillage of 87 containers full of nurdles. The death count was 450 sea turtles, 45 dolphins, and 8 whales washed ashore with nurdles in their bodies.

 

PODCASTING

We are learning to create podcasts to share our learning.

Listen to these podcasts from some year 4 students in Melbourne. Their podcast was called Eco-radio and these students were passionate about sustainability and caring for their environment.

Leave a comment here. What did you think of their podcast? Think of the positives, the negatives, and suggest ways they could have improved it. What ideas do you now have for creating your podcast?

Biodiversity – Why Does It Matter?

We are learning about the importance of biodiversity in keeping our planet healthy.

“The bottom line answer to the question about why biodiversity matters is fairly simple: The rest of the living world can get along without us, but we can’t get along without them.” – Sylvia Earle

 

JACKIE FRENCH

We are learning to interview a person to find out about their work and their location.

TASK 1: Read the book ‘Diary of a Wombat’. Can you locate it in your local public library?

TASK 2: Watch this clip to get background information about Jackie French:

TASK 3: In the blog comments here, write a question which we can use when interviewing Jackie. Think about:

  • Is your question Googleable or non-Googleable?
  • Is your question about Jackie’s work as an author?
  • Is your question about understanding Jackie’s location? (thinking like a geographer)

STAR SWAMP – A Special Place

star-swamp-fodeyOur History and Geography inquiry about this special place is around our question: “Who might want to keep Star Swamp?”

We will be  looking at how people think and feel about Star Swamp. We will also be looking at Star Swamp over time: how has it changed, or stayed the same?

 

PART 1

Complete the ‘Where In The World’ Challenge 15.

PART 2

Think like a Geographer! Use these information sources to think of some words geographers might use to describe Star Swamp:

Use Google Maps to get a close look at Star Swamp Bushland.

City of Stirling brochure

Friends of Star Swamp Website

Choose some of your words to put in a WordFoto of Star Swamp.

Part 3: Bingo Baker

Star Swamp History Trail – Bingo Baker

Skip to toolbar