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What Kind Of World Do I Want To Live In?
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Researchers document student participation in marine conservation service-learning activities including microplastics research, mangrove planting, and oyster reef census work in the Indian River Lagoon, examining how community engagement shapes perspectives on the kind of world students wish to inhabit.
Marine Conservation and Restoration is one of the most influential courses through community engagement and class discussion on conservation and restoration strategies. I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Walters’ CEE (Coastal & Estuarine Ecology) Lab to plant mangroves and census oysters for restoration projects and to contribute to microplastics research based out of the Indian River Lagoon. Through this course, I gained experience that can be utilized in active research and active restoration through hands-on work both in the field and in the laboratory which will strengthen my academic CV and personal skill development. Engagement with the local community through volunteering events such as International Coastal Cleanup and the Restore Our Shores oyster restoration projects also helped me develop a sense of community across a greater range from Central Florida to Coastal and South Florida. This course also distilled a greater sense of hope for the ongoing biodiversity and ecological crisis that the world faces and allowed me to make a more immediate, material impact on the ecosystems we rely on.
More Papers Like This
From Microplastics to Mangroves: My Journey Through Environmental Service
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Researchers describe a community-engaged service-learning course in which students conducted microplastics fieldwork, participated in mangrove restoration, and contributed to oyster reef projects, demonstrating how environmental service activities develop scientific research and communication skills.
Students’ attitudes towards the environment and marine litter in the context of a coastal water quality educational citizen science project
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Middle school students who participated in a citizen science project monitoring coastal water quality and microplastic pollution showed significantly more positive environmental attitudes afterward compared to a control group. The study suggests that hands-on engagement with real microplastic research can be an effective way to build environmental awareness in young people.
Integrating Community Service into Student Learning: A Model Event of a Plastic Waste Cleanup
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Despite its title referencing plastic waste, this paper describes an educational outreach program combining beach cleanup events with classroom lectures on plastic recycling and sustainability — not original scientific research on microplastic pollution. It examines how community service can be integrated into student learning experiences and is not relevant to microplastics science or human health impacts.
Marine litter education: From awareness to action
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An educational intervention on marine litter designed for students from primary to high school level, incorporating lab work and a beach clean-up, significantly changed participants knowledge, perceptions, and behavioral intentions as measured by pre- and post-questionnaires.
Students’ Intention to Reduce Microplastic Pollution: A Future Solution
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A survey of 200 university students using the Theory of Reasoned Action found that personal attitude and environmental concern significantly predicted intentions to reduce microplastic pollution, while subjective social norms from peers and family had no significant effect. These findings suggest environmental education campaigns should emphasize individual attitudes and ecological concern rather than social pressure to effectively shift plastic consumption behaviors among young adults.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.