Two powerhouses have come together to provide a marine sciences curriculum for high school students focused on the impacts of post-use plastics on oceans and marine life and the greater ecosystem impacts.

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The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF), which conducts scientific research and has launched an international educational initiative aimed at conserving the marine environment, has partnered with Brightmark, a global waste solutions company with a mission to “Reimagine Waste” and develop transformative innovations in the fight for the environment, to develop the new curriculum.

“Brightmark is excited to partner with Guy Harvey on the development of this incredibly important curriculum," said Bob Powell, Brightmark Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "The education contained within will be essential for informing the next generation on the issues surrounding plastics and the environment, as well as forward-thinking solutions required to address them and ensure a clean and healthy planet for generations to come.”

The Plastic Pollution, Plastic Solution unit comes to life with highlights of the usefulness of plastic, its chemistry, and the drawbacks of post-use plastic, focusing on microplastic pollution. The showpiece of the unit is Brightmark's plastics renewal technology, which is complemented by traditional mechanical recycling.

During the weeklong lesson, students will investigate the potential effects of microplastics on the environment and health of both wildlife and humans. Additionally students will be provided the opportunity to sample microplastics in consumer products. They’ll explore how cutting-edge science and technology are leading the way for a mindset shift from plastic as waste to plastic as a resource. The ultimate goal is for students to have a more holistic understanding of plastics and new technologies that reduce the environmental impact of plastics. To support efforts to raise awareness about environmental impacts, they will demonstrate the knowledge they have gained about microplastics by creating a short-form video content targeting high school social media users. The goal of their video content is to educate peers about microplastics in a way that is engaging and educational.

“I don’t think you can talk enough about the extent that plastics negatively affect the environment, wildlife, our oceans, and its inhabitants,” said Dr. Harvey. “Our planet is in need of environmental solutions, and there are brilliant people doing just that at Brightmark. Through our partnership with Brightmark, we can educate, inform, and enlighten our students, which will have a long-term generational impact.”

Plastic Pollution, Plastic Solution is part of the STEAM curriculum and Guy Harvey Marine Science 101 curriculum recently launched by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation that is built on the videos, articles, and papers from Dr. Harvey that cover decades of scientific research. GHOF is making marine and environmental science more enjoyable and engaging by implementing virtual field trips that include diving with sharks, investigating mangrove environments, witnessing sea turtles nesting, and examining the impacts of pollution, climate change, and overfishing on the marine world.

The GHOF conducts scientific research and hosts educational programs aimed at conserving the marine environment. The Foundation also funds affiliated researchers working to better understand our ocean’s ecosystem and educators fostering the next era of marine conservationists. The GHOF will help ensure that future generations can enjoy and benefit from a properly balanced ocean ecosystem. For more information, visit www.GHOF.org.

About Brightmark: Brightmark is a global waste solutions company with a mission to reimagine waste. The company takes a holistic, closed-loop, circular economy approach to tackling the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges with imagination and optimism for the future. Through the deployment of disruptive, breakthrough waste-to-energy solutions focused on plastics renewal (plastic waste-to-fuel) and renewable natural gas (organic waste-to-fuel), Brightmark enables programs specifically tailored to environmental needs to build scalable project solutions that have a positive impact on the world and communities in which its stakeholders live and work. For more information, visit www.brightmark.com.

About the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation: The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) conducts scientific research and hosts educational programs to conserve the marine environment. The GHOF also funds affiliated researchers working to better understand our ocean ecosystem and educators helping to foster the next era of marine conservationists. The GHOF will help ensure that future generations can enjoy and benefit from a properly balanced ocean ecosystem. www.GHOF.org

About Guy Harvey: Guy Harvey is a unique blend of artist, scientist, diver, angler, conservationist, and explorer, fiercely devoted to his family and his love of the sea. His childhood passion for the ocean and its living creatures not only inspired him to draw but fueled a burning interest that prompted a formal education in marine science. Having graduated with honors in Marine Biology from Aberdeen University in Scotland in 1977, Guy returned home to Jamaica to resume his education, earning his Ph.D. from the University of the West Indies in 1984. Though he gave up a budding career as a marine biologist for that of a highly acclaimed artist, Guy has continued his relentless pursuit to unravel the mysteries of the sea, traveling the world to better understand the habits and habitats of the marine wildlife he paints. For more information, please visit www.guyharvey.com. Follow Guy on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DrGuyHarvey, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DrGuyHarvey, and tune in to see Guy’s latest expeditions on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/DrGuyHarvey.

Video and photos, courtesy of Brightmark, here: https://bit.ly/3b0wmp8

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