California Coastal Commission Educators Resources for Marine Debris
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Gyre: Creating Art From a Plastic Ocean – 20:14 min.
Grades 7 and up. National Geographic program shows an artists’ expedition to Alaska with the goal to make art from the trash found on the beaches.
Midway Journey – Bottle Caps – 4:18 min.
Grades 4 and up. Examining the carcass of a Laysan albatross, and the plastic contents of its stomach, with the Deputy Wildlife Manager of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
Midway Journey – Plastic Beach – 2:25 min.
The seemingly endless deposition of plastic debris onto a single beach on Midway Island. All ages, however this does not present any solutions, just the problem.
Ocean Heroes: The Plastics Problem – – 2:17 min.
Grades 9 and up. One World One Ocean interview with Anna Cummins and Marcus Erickson of 5 Gyres Institute
about plastic pollution in the ocean.
Our Debris Filling the Sea – 2:36 min.
Grades 4 and up. NOAA presents the marine debris problem.
Saving Inky – 20:25 min.
A video for all ages about a pygmy sperm whale that ingested plastics from the ocean, was treated at the Baltimore
Aquarium and then set free. 1994. Request VHS or DVD from Order Form.
Synthetic Sea: Plastics in the Ocean – 9:00 min.
Grades 7 and up. An alarming look at the role plastics is playing in our waters, specifically the Pacific Ocean from
Algalita. Request VHS, DVD, or Spanish DVD from Order Form.
Trash in the Deep Sea: Bringing a Hidden Problem to Light – 4:12 min.
Grades 4 and up. Describes Monterey Bay Aquarium
Research Institute’s research into debris in the deep ocean. Watch online.
The Trash Troll – 12:30 min.
Grades K-5. Teaches children the impacts of beach trash on marine animals. 1993. Request VHS or DVD from Order Form.
Troubled Waters: Plastic in the Marine Environment – 28:30 min.
Grades 7 and up. This 1992 video from the Center for Marine Conservation (now The Ocean Conservancy) addresses
marine debris issues with a focus on ocean-based sources. 1992. Request VHS or DVD from Order Form.
The Adopt-A-Beach® School Assembly Program – 21:00 min
Grades 3 and up. The Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education produced this DVD, which includes excerpts from
a live assembly program for students about the sources and impacts of marine debris. 2009. This item will
be yours to keep; it does not need to be returned.
Request DVD from Order Form.
Videos on plastics from Plastics at SEA: North Pacific Expedition 2012 include:
- Education and Outreach: Bringing the Gyre to people – 3:11 min
- MOCNESS: An adventure in practical oceanography – 2:56 min – Using data from the new MOCNESS net sampling system
scientists begin answering the scientific questions about plastic debris. - The Windrow tow: describes a massive haul of plastic debris that was collected in a surface plankton net during an
Oct. 16, 2012 tow in a windrow – 2:58 min - The Science of Plastics at SEA – 2:32 min – Get a glimpse at the variety of research objectives being carried out on the
Plastics at SEA: North Pacific Expedition 2012. - Plastics at SEA, North Pacific Expedition – 7:20 min.
Grades 7 and up. Plastics at SEA: North Pacific Expedition 2012 wraps up their 39 day voyage from San Diego to Hawaii.
