Hampshire school children invited to conference on World Ocean Day

Over 100 Hampshire school children have been invited to a ‘kids’ conference’ at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard to mark World Ocean Day on Wednesday 8 June.

The event, called Protecting Our Planet, is being organised by the Environment Agency’s plastics and sustainability team as part of the Interreg Preventing Plastic Pollution project.

Years 6 and 7 primary and secondary children (aged 10 to 12), from 25 schools across Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight, will hear from prominent young environmentalists, take part in a Q&A, and join a series of interactive workshops.

The renowned young speakers will be Amy Meek, aged 18, co-founder of the charity and campaign Kids Against Plastic and Lucie Parsons, aged 12, started her journey with a village litter pick after being upset by the effects of plastic pollution, later going on to be an ambassador for Kids Against Plastic.

George Hassell, aged 17, aka blogger Green Fingered George is also speaking.

The workshops will be led by environmental organisations, including the Mantra Trust where students will have the opportunity to become manta ray researchers to identify the manta’s unique spot pattern, explore manta ray threats, and look at how microplastics magnify up the food chain.

A density workshop will be led by The3Engineers, which will explore how density varies in different solutions, including fresh and salt water, linking this to plastic waste on our beaches, with a final look at how a submarine rises and sinks.

There will also be a 'wilder schools’ session led by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and an informative session with the Final Straw Foundation charity which works with businesses and communities to improve ocean health.