This blog post was written by Ryann Jibson, a 2024 EarthEcho Marine Plastics Ambassador.

Middle school is a crucial time when kids begin to develop their passions and values independently. In addition to reflecting on my experience with EarthEcho at a middle school age and what that has meant to me, I quickly realized this was the age group I wanted to focus my project on. While Michigan is far from being landlocked, I wanted to design an activity that resonated with urban areas like Ann Arbor—emphasizing that no matter where you live, you play a role in plastic pollution. While many watershed activities have been created for this age group, none explicitly brought attention to plastic debris. It was important for me to create an activity that did this while remaining accessible for teachers and digestible for students. 

Preparation began in August as soon as I returned to the University of Michigan campus. Recognizing the University of Michigan Natural History Museum as a hub for learning and curiosity, I first sought a partnership there. I was connected with Heather Vingsness, the museum’s talented educational outreach coordinator, and we immediately began collaborating. 

Heather’s expertise was invaluable—she helped me refine my ideas, scale them down to a clear and engaging message, and consider aspects of working with this age group I hadn’t thought of. After consultation with middle school teachers from both Whitehall District School Ann Arbor District Schools, I conducted multiple trial runs, both with and without students, to determine the most effective and engaging approach to this activity.  

Once the lesson plan was finalized, Heather connected me with schools that had previously collaborated with the museum, allowing me to begin scheduling classroom visits. Additionally, I expanded my collaboration with the Museum of Natural History by helping to create its first-ever Stream Table event, where I will run my activity for museum visitors of all ages.

• Anticipated engagement of 100+ visitors during the first ever stream table day 
• ~150 students engaged in the Detroit school district
• 3 storm drains adopted 

This experience was a valuable challenge for my science communication skills and an exciting introduction to lesson planning. My passion for designing a lesson plan tailored to middle school students was both a driving force and a challenge, as this age group requires careful consideration. Ensuring the activity was as accessible as possible was another hurdle—I wanted to create something easy for teachers to implement while delivering a clear message. I hadn’t anticipated how much every small detail would matter. Additionally, I was surprised by the difficulty of gaining access to schools, which forced me to rethink my approach to spreading this curriculum. In the end, this challenge broadened the scope and impact of my project.

I aim to expand the reach of my lesson plan, beginning with Educating Echo, EEI’s educator newsletter. By creating a corresponding YouTube video, I hope to feature it on the EEI YouTube channel and highlight the video with social media promotion. Additionally, I plan to share the lesson plan with education collaborators at the UM Natural History Museum. I am overall aiming for a broader dissemination within the science education community.

Lesson Plan: Link coming soon!

Link to upcoming stream table event: https://lsa.umich.edu/ummnh/news-events/all-events.detail.html/132526-21871203.html

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