"Plastic Pollution is a problem I want to help solve because I care about all the animals who live in the ocean!"--- Addyson

You can USE the TOOLS & INITIATIVES on THIS PAGE, as an individual, class, group or family. *Be sure to check out the APYS MENTOR PROGRAM'S FREE TOOLBOX as well to help guide your activation

*** This program has been modified from a funded program model to a self-activated free offering, inclusive of liability. Some tools and resources may be unavailable or outdated.***

EDUCATORS & MENTORS USE THESE TOOLS TO ACTIVATE:

DOWNLOAD: SAMPLE FLYER for SUPPORT Use this tool as a template to personalize and ACTIVATE OTHERS (Consider email to distribute this tool).

EDUCATOR & COLLEGE MENTORS should begin your activation on the APYS MENTOR PROGRAM & TOOLS page with FREE activation resources for K-5th students.

We offer a link to the AP SOLVER6 CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK to help you create impactful project & service based educational opportunities for your K-12 students through APYS initiatives.

Plastic Pollution is a serious crisis, families and individuals can do 5 things to ACT NOW:

 *  REFUSE SINGLE USE PLASTIC, like straws, bags, bottles & take out items.  *  REDUCE the plastic you buy and use.  *  REUSE the plastic that is already on the planet.  *  RECYCLE properly by learning waste sorting & your city's waste management.  *  PARTICIPATE & ACTIVATE sustainable solutions in your family, school & community using the tools & helpers found on an AP Young Steward page.

Please learn more about the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals and how you can help build a better world by clicking the image link and by watching this YOUTH FOCUSED VIDEO

ACT NOW INITIATIVE #1 Awareness Tools for All Ages:

LEARN MORE & BECOME A PLASTIC POLLUTION AMBASSADOR TOO!

Addyson is an AP Young Steward AND 5 Gyres Ambassador. This great program and organization work to put science into action!  Learn more by visiting the 5 Gyres Institute Website. As an ambassador Addyson is learning & sharing sustainable solutions to replace one use plastic. She urges others, like her, to REFUSE Single Use Plastic because plastic is a material the earth CANNOT digest. Plastic Pollution and Climate Change are parallel global emergencies needing global NOW. Addy says, "don't just ACT for us, act for the animals who can't act for themselves."

ACTIVATE USING THESE STEWARDSHIP TOOLS

READ NOW: Addy's AWARENESS SHEET then share Addy's video to inspire others to activate the following initiatives in your family, school & community!

PLEASE WATCH & SHARE the Plastic Pollution Coalition MAIN PAGE VIDEO: Open Your Eyes, narrated by Jeff Bridges. You'll find many Plastic Pollution Coalition resources within Addy's initiatives.

VISIT NOW: Plastic Pollution Coalition FREE GUIDES to going Plastic Free. These guides can assist schools, towns, events, restaurants & families in going plastic free and HOW TO GET STARTED.

EDUCATORS: Please see the bottom of the page for more activities, Next Gen Science curriculum & additional resources we offer and connect you to.

WANT TO BECOME a 5 Gyres AMBASSADOR TOO? JOIN Addyson as a 5 Gyres Ambassador, gaining all the tools you'll need to turn science into action! Learn More NOW. #5GyresAmbassador

ACT NOW INITIATIVE #2 for families, groups & communities:

HOST A FILM, FOOD, FRIENDS & FAMILY NIGHT WITH THESE TOOLS

Addyson wants you to know that WASTE MANAGEMENT, CONSUMER LIFESTYLE & CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY are all contributing to the plastic pollution crisis. Regenerating the health of our marine habitats is essential to our human existence. Microplastics are wreaking havoc on an ecosystem that is dependent on phytoplankton... these little organisms produce 70% of our Earth's oxygen AND SEQUESTER 40% of our carbon.

ACTIVATE USING THESE STEWARDSHIP TOOLS

Addy WANTS YOU TO JOIN HER in using the 5 Gyres SCREENING KIT to host a school or community film night that inspires water stewardship AND she welcomes you to direct your community to her page to activate sustainable solutions after this screening! If you host a screening and promote it on social media, be sure to use the hashtags: #AAOPlasticFree #PlasticFreeHawaii #TheSmogOfTheSea #AddyPresInspires

Addy wants you to see the 3 minute FILM TRAILER NOW

Addy ART: Addyson likes to do art while she watches documentaries on Plastic Pollution. She wants you to DOWNLOAD her AP Plastic Pollution Steward ART Project!*Be sure to watch her APYS video to learn the 5 things you can do to help and share them on your project!

ACT NOW INITIATIVE #3 for All Ages:

  GO #PlasticFree WITH THESE CLEAN UP & COMMERCE TOOLS

Addyson participates in beach clean up efforts with her family & works to inspire commerce leaders to be responsible in their practices.

Young stewards can participate to make their community better places by activating any simple playground, park, neighborhood or other community clean up effort with their adult helpers. It doesn't matter if your effort has 1 or 100 participants, it's all movement in the right direction! There are many organizations that can assist larger clean up efforts if you'd like to help host or activate one! Addy suggests seeking them in your own community with your mentor and she welcomes you to use her letter tool to make the experience more impactful, for you or your group! Addy urges you to learn more about SINGLE USE plastic, recycling myths and realities from the science provided by 5Gyres: Read more.

Addyson urges others to REFUSE Single Use Plastic. When Addy is out to eat with her family, she brings reusable utensils, refuses straws and to-go items and takes the opportunity to talk to managers about replacing one use plastic in their business'. Addyson is always kind and polite when she makes these requests, guided by her mentor! She hopes more businesses will work to reduce their footprint and recommends corporations call her friend, Lia at Plastic Pollution Solutions to help their success!

ACTIVATE USING THESE STEWARDSHIP TOOLS

DOWNLOAD Addyson's "SEND IT BACK" Letter TOOL to SEND A PIECE (or several) of plastic packaging, product or other waste BACK TO THE MANUFACTURER (Addy's tool makes this a sustainable solution by introducing the corporation to Plastic Pollution Solutions who will help them reduce their plastic footprint!).

USE THE TRASH BLITZ TOOL for your clean up efforts: Powered by 5 Gyres, the TrashBlitz web app collects data on litter and single-use plastic items. This data gives scientists, lawmakers and citizens a better picture of the plastic pollution that is entering waterways in order to turn science into solution! VISIT TRASH BLITZ SITE & SEND YOUR DATA TO SCIENTISTS NOW!

Inspire YOUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS TO ACTIVATE sustainable solutions with Addyson's Plastic Free Restaurant ACTIVATION TOOL (to use in conjunction with the Plastic Pollution Coalition's Easy Guide to Plastic Free Eats GUIDE). This tool suggests a simple approach to your local restaurant manager or owner, and a follow up!

Share your cleanup! #YouDroppedSomething #AddyPresInspires #ForThePlanet  @AddyPresLFStyle @5Gyres @PlasticPollutes  #PlasticFree

ACT NOW INITIATIVE #4 for All Ages:

ENABLE CIVIC LEADERSHIP WITH THESE LETTER & ACTION TOOLS.

Addyson wants to inspire you to learn more about how laws, leadership & lifestyle can help the plastic pollution crisis. These tools & suggestions will help you participate as you grow into your stewardship responsibilities! Addyson asks you to REFUSE the top 5 sources of single use plastic on your campus and at home: bags, straws, WATER BOTTLES and to-go containers & cups.

Addy invites mentors to share & discuss this LA Times article by Annie Leonard & Martin Bourque: Berkley Isn't Just Attacking Plastic Waste, It's Rejecting Our Entire Throw Away Culture. Have a conversation with your young steward(s) about the impact of policy and how our voices are heard through voting. Use Addyson's letter & script tools to help young stewards learn to share their voices with leaders! Addy asks adult helpers to consider taking their young steward(s) to visit local city or state leaders office's. They can even share their thoughts on plastic pollution while there and write letters to follow up!

ACTIVATE USING THESE STEWARDSHIP TOOLS

USE Addy's "CHANGE IT UP" Letter Tool to CONNECT with your LOCAL and STATE LEADERSHIP on Plastic Pollution Policies that can change our world! Adult Mentors can help young stewards look up laws and current events related to the plastic pollution crisis. Then use this letter tool to offer support or thoughts!

Be A CIVIC LEADER when you USE Addy's TOOLS to ENGAGE YOUR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP:Addy's PLEDGE to go Plastic free SPEECH TOOL to leadership can help you approach your principal, PTA and student leadership to enact a PLASTIC FREE PLEDGE on your school campus. We offer a Waste Management VIDEO TOOL that can help your effort: Waste Sorting in Palo Alto Schools. Addyson recommends utilizing the Plastic Pollution Coalition's Plastic Free Schools GUIDEto join the community of schools who are enacting Plastic Free programs on their campus. *The AP Give Program can assist your school's funding for sustainable programming.

Water bottle waste can be greatly reduced when schools, business', airports and municipal buildings install easy access, public water bottle REFILL STATIONS. Use Addy's Change it Up LETTER TOOL  to reach out to your local leaders to request that clean water bottle refill stations be installed in your school & community!

For high school level stewards & their educator mentors, we suggest the opportunity to read and discuss the 5 Gyres B.A.N. List 2.0: Are BioPlastics The Answer, An Overview (page 9-31). Then offer your students the opportunity to think about solutions and consider sharing these ideas with leaders. The solutions are not yet established and we all need to work together to find & activate them! You might also offer the opportunity to write letters to leaders that prompt them to support consistent & transparent labeling on all products and packaging through industrial standards.

Become a civic leader in your community by following the step by step Plastic Pollution Coalition Guides to banning plastic bags & expanded polystyrene foam from use in your community!

Share your story: #AddyPresInspires @AddyPresLFStyle @5Gyres #PlasticFree #CleanSeas

ACT NOW INITIATIVE #5 for All Ages:

TOOLS for WASTE SORTING, WASTE REDUCTION & More

RECYCLING plastic waste is not a sustainable solution. In fact, only about 9% of all the plastic produced since the 1950's has been recycled (or incinerated, contributing to carbon emissions!) The rest is being pushed around the planet or breaking down into tiny, toxic pieces that cause plastic pollution. This plastic pollution isn't a simple clean up effort, because the small pieces pollute more like a smog than an easy "scoop-able" clean up.

Addyson hopes you'll learn more about your own local waste management system, proper waste sorting (including COMPOSTING and avoiding WASTE CONTAMINATION), so you'll participate in REDUCING your waste and learning how you and your family, class, community or organization can make an impact, and prompt your local leadership to enact better community based solutions, too!

ACTIVATE USING THESE TOOLS:

Addy recommends the following YouTube link to gain inspiration & activate better sorting at your home or school campus: Waste Sorting in Palo Alto Schools VIDEO

DOWNLOAD and POST on your fridge or in your classroom, Addy's BASIC RULES FOR WHAT GOES IN THE RECYCLE BIN

Visit this Waste Management Site to learn more, AS A FAMILY, CLASS, ORGANIZATION or COMPANY, about proper sorting practice. REMEMBER, recycling ISN'T a sustainable solution for plastic pollution, although sorting is important. REFUSING PLASTIC and REUSING what is already here are better goals.

REDUCE YOUR WASTE at School & Home through LUNCH TIME! READ our AddyPresLifeSTYLE article: Solutions for Eco-Friendly Lunches, partnered with Addy's #4 initiative TOOL:Plastic Free Pledge Script to leadership to approach your school leadership to activate a zero waste lunch system at your school!

DOWNLOAD Addyson's Waste Management THANK YOU LETTER TOOL  and SEND IT to say "thank you" to your local waste management workers, who sort through all the waste we wave goodbye to on trash day!

Terracycle offers families, communities and business' sustainable waste management & recycling solutions for hard to recycle items. Addy recommends clicking the link to learn more about their free, brand sponsored programs!

ACT NOW INITIATIVE #6 for All Ages:

ACTIVATE A CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAM WITH CRAYOLA & THESE SCRIPT TOOLS

Addyson and her Girl Scout Troop, 65505 ACTIVATED THIS CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAM on their school campus, and think you should too! Corporate Responsibility programs are so important for the effective clean up of plastic pollution. These programs are enacted by corporations who care about cleaning up their mess, while they they work to improve their plastic footprint. Many corporate responsibility programs require consumer participation to keep waste out our overflowing landfills and ocean habitats, so PLEASE PARTICIPATE IN THEM... AND you can recommend any corporation to call Lia at Plastic Pollution Solutions, she can help them reduce their corporate footprint!

*To make this initiative a sustainable solution (continuing the Color Cycle program once it's enacted) you'll need to designate a school level student team to manage a regular collection (perhaps monthly) of the items, then download & print shipping labels (provided by Crayola) and send these items back.

ACTIVATE USING THESE STEWARDSHIP TOOLS:

USE Addyson's GIRL SCOUT TROOP 65505's SCRIPTS to ACTIVATE this program on your K-12 school campus (edit based on your age). Use the Crayola Activation SCRIPT TO ADULTS to inspire your Teachers & PTA (at a school site council meeting) then use the Crayola Activation SCRIPT TO KIDS to inspire your student body to participate (at an assembly), just like Addyson & her troop did! 

You'll need the Crayola Color Cycle Directive to kick off this SUPER SIMPLE program on your school or in your community!

Share your story! @AddyPresLFStyle @Crayola #AddyPresInspires #ForThePlanet #AllTogether

BE SURE TO SHARE YOUR ACTIVATION EXPERIENCE!

Outreach is key for sustainable solutions to have impact! SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE USING OUR TOOLS and TAG & SHARE @AddyPresLFstyle #AddyPresInspires #ACTNOW

Consider a DONATION

PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING to support free resources & programs for youth! 

*Activates sustainable solutions

*Provides funding partnerships that support relevant, innovative school programs

THANK YOU FOR ACTIVATING with Addy!

"Thank you for your participation in sustainable solutions with me! Please continue to learn more about WHAT YOU CAN DO to rid the planet of Plastic Pollution."

VISIT 5 GYRES FAQ's Page to learn more about the impact of Plastic Pollution

*Don't forget to print your Certificate of Award from the APYS Main Page Helpers Toolbox!