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NOMMI Microplastics Educational Toolkit: First Edition
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A Nigerian organization created a 23-page illustrated guide teaching young people and educators about microplastics, their sources and environmental effects. Six expert reviewers scored it 3.83 out of 4 and recommended classroom use after minor revisions, suggesting simpler language and more local examples. This is the first version, to be tested in classrooms and a citizen-science project in later research stages.
The NOMMI Microplastics Educational Toolkit is a 23-page visual learning resource developed by the National Ocean Microplastics Monitoring Initiative (NOMMI), coordinated and funded by RE-CYCLEME Solutions in Lagos, Nigeria. It was created to make microplastics science understandable, locally relevant and actionable for young learners, educators, youth groups and community learning programmes. The toolkit introduces the meaning and common forms of microplastics; primary and secondary origins; sources and environmental pathways; particle size and movement; potential interactions with wildlife; environmental monitoring; pollution prevention; and responsible environmental action. Illustrated explanations, Nigerian field photographs, pathway exercises, word games and particle-identification activities are used to help learners move from recognising plastic pollution to questioning how environmental evidence is produced, interpreted and applied. This record contains Version 1.0, the first edition submitted for formative expert review in the study titled “From Awareness to Citizen Science: Developing a Contextualized Microplastics Educational Toolkit for Young Learners in Nigeria.” Six reviewers with complementary expertise in plastic-pollution science, freshwater monitoring, education, instructional design, environmental advocacy and innovation assessed the resource against 14 criteria covering scientific accuracy, educational quality, contextual relevance, practical usability and readiness for supervised classroom piloting. Across 83 valid criterion ratings, the toolkit received 318 of 332 possible points, representing a mean score of 3.83 out of 4. Five reviewers recommended supervised pilot use after minor revision, while one recommended pilot use without revision. Their feedback identified priorities including simpler age-calibrated language, additional Nigerian and African examples, clearer separation of visual observation from analytically confirmed identification, a dedicated explanation of citizen science, educator guidance, low-resource activity options and correction of minor activity errors. This first edition is preserved as the exact resource evaluated during Stage 1 of a three-stage research programme. Stage 2 will examine classroom usability and learning outcomes following revision, while Stage 3 will investigate supervised youth participation in a defined citizen-science monitoring process. The toolkit is an educational resource and should not be interpreted as a laboratory identification manual, a complete environmental sampling protocol or evidence that visually suspected particles have been analytically confirmed as plastic. Revised editions will be released as subsequent versions following expert feedback and supervised classroom evaluation.
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