Our very own Dr Claire Kinsella helped out at the recent ‘Plastic Not So Fantastic’ public event, here’s her account of the fabulous occasion:

“Dr. Claire Gwinnett talked to the children about the disadvantages of single-use plastic and the session highlighted the negative impact that such products have on sea creatures.  The session began with the children attempting to release their hands from an elastic band entanglement in order to physically demonstrate how sea creatures can get trapped in the plastic waste which ends up in the ocean.  The children also sampled some “eco glitter” which was applied by PhD students from the science faculty who kindly helped out on the day.  They also explored the material properties of plastic household items by using them to create sea creatures of their own and participated in a plastic bottle cap stacking competition with artist Sara from Plastic Pixel Art. The children’s vibrant sea life creations, which are currently on display on the ground floor of the Science building, are a clear testament to a very enjoyable session. There will be more events like this in the coming year so if any staff or students from Education are interested in helping facilitate or expanding the potential of events like these for additional learning and development, please do let me know   Claire.Kinsella@staffs.ac.uk”