Marine Debris Research - Effects of marine debris on wildlife

TeachWild was a national program connecting regional and remote teachers, students and Shell employees through experiential learning aimed at tackling the global issue of marine debris. The program was a national partnership aimed at answering some key questions:

Where does marine debris come from?
Where does marine debris go?
How much marine debris is produced nationally in Australia?
What it the risk marine debris poses to wildlife?

Over three years, the TeachWild partnership achieved the following:

* Over 170 beaches were surveyed, by CSIRO and the participating students, around the coast of Australia (equating to a survey every 100 km), enabling the development of Australia’s first national risk assessment for marine debris;

* 5700 students were partnered with leading researchers to understand the causes and effects of marine debris and contributed to the solution;

* 160 teachers and Shell employees have worked in the field alongside scientists conducting cutting edge research into the fate of plastics on our marine wildlife; and

* A body of free education resources, materials and tools were provided to educators and government agencies across the country to engage students in the issue of marine debris.

TeachWild是一项全国性项目，通过体验式学习将区域与偏远地区的教师、学生及壳牌（Shell）员工联结起来，旨在应对海洋垃圾这一全球性议题。本项目为全国性合作计划，旨在解答若干核心问题：
海洋垃圾源自何处？
海洋垃圾最终去向何方？
澳大利亚全国范围内产生的海洋垃圾总量为多少？
海洋垃圾对野生生物构成何种风险？

在三年周期内，TeachWild合作项目取得了以下成果：
* 澳大利亚联邦科学与工业研究组织（CSIRO）与参与学生共同对澳大利亚沿岸逾170处海滩开展勘测（平均每100公里即完成一次勘测），助力澳大利亚首部海洋垃圾全国风险评估报告的编制；
* 5700名学生与顶尖研究人员携手合作，探究海洋垃圾的成因与影响，并为解决方案贡献力量；
* 160名教师与壳牌员工亲临野外一线，与科学家一同开展关于塑料对海洋野生生物影响的前沿研究；
* 面向全国教育工作者与政府机构推出了一系列免费教育资源、材料与工具，以引导学生关注海洋垃圾相关议题。