Annelore van der Lint
Communication/content manager
"Scientific articles alone are not enough. Taking people out to sea and showing them how bad things are is much more important. Only then will it really realize the magnitude of the challenge.
Citizen science
Taking people out to sea works
Our flagship campaigns: after a forced stay ashore, we will finally be able to sail again soon. With smaller groups than usual and under strict restrictions (keeping your distance, stay outside, only go inside for toilet visits and with face mask) we will sail again this spring with the classic Store Baelt over the Wadden Sea.of the challenge.”
How much do you know about plastic?
The team at The Ocean Movement provides a full program (in English). First of all, the scientists will outline the history of plastic. They will explain how it is possible that such a practical material has become such a huge problem. In the quiz “how much do you actually know about plastic?” the plastic-citizen scientists-to-be are allowed to demonstrate what they know.
Once we’re far enough offshore, we start with the actual research. Skipper Aart will slow down the ship so the scientists can put out the Manta Trawl. With the Manta Trawl, designed after the impressive Manta Ray, the top layer of water can be “scooped up”. Like the wonderful ray, the Manta Trawl filters the water through a mesh net. In this way, even the smallest pieces of plastic can be filtered out.
Citizen science
After about 30 minutes, the net of the Manta Trawl is brought in and rinsed out. The remains are carefully investigated. On average, 11,000 pieces of plastic are found during expeditions in the Waddenzee, with a sad peak to 94,000.
Effective
Taking people out to sea works: here the plastic pollution shows its nasty face. The reactions of previous citizen scientists show that research and the results in particular, opened their eyes. As one of the participants once stated: “Scientific articles alone are not enough. Taking people out to sea and showing them how bad things are is much more important. Only then will it really realize the magnitude
date:
26 June 2021
location:
The Netherlands / Waddenzee
