Students Raise Awareness about Mask Pollution

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Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong
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The Year 2 children at DUCKS have been busy over the last term making a difference to our planet!

We had a wonderful e-visit from the author of ‘Somebody Swallowed Stanley’, Sarah Roberts, where we listened to the journey of a plastic bag in the ocean who gets swallowed by different ocean creatures. The children were shocked by the effect plastic is having on our planet and oceans. They decided they wanted to find out more and try to tackle this problem.

After some comprehensive research, the children found that since the outbreak of Covid19, there has been increased pollution to our land and seas in the form of single use masks. We collected some data to find out how many masks the Year 2 children and teachers wasted in just one day. Then, using our amazing calculation skills, we worked out how many were wasted each week, month, and year. The numbers were dreadful- It was time to do something!

Across Year 2, we wrote over 120 letters informing people of our findings which we hoped would help persuade people to think twice about what happens to their masks. In order to drastically reduce the waste made from masks alone, we had to be clear and concise in our efforts.

The children decided who and where they wanted to send the letters to. The letters reached all DUCKS classrooms, as well as many classes in Junior and Senior school. They were also sent to several different schools in Shanghai, Hong Kong and even the Prime Minister of Australia!

Across DUCKS we have already seen a dramatic increase in the use of reusable masks. We hope to get some responses soon and we are so proud of what the Year 2 children have achieved.