EDN Education Spotlight: Candace Eastwood of Milverton Public School
March 13, 2019
By Kira Heeschen, Education Coordinator
Marine plastic pollution is choking and poisoning sea life.
Candace Eastwood of Milverton Public School in Ontario, Canada, became concerned about ocean pollution after she the documentary “Plastic Ocean.” Upset but filled with determination, she decided to educate her 3rd and 4th grade students on plastic pollution and help empower them to make changes in their lives. She asked her students to collect plastic trash from their homes for a day to demonstrate how much trash their families were producing. Her students created the bulletin board to help teach the rest of the school that “while we are wasting our plastic trash, sea life is tasting it.” The students also wrote poems about how plastic pollutions impacts sea creatures.
Confronted during vacation by a beach covered in plastic trash after a big storm, Candance saw another opportunity to motivate her students. She participated in a clean up and took pictures of the trash to share with her students. They decided to get involved with ocean clean up organizations and to host their own school clean up events. One student was inspired to establish an Eco Club at their school to ensure that these projects continue. “My hope is to move my students, inspire them, give them opportunities to make change!” says Candace. “I believe in them and I believe they can do anything!” We couldn’t agree more.