The Aquarium Presents Two Sustainable Projects to Raise Awareness among Schoolchildren about the Importance of Protecting the Sea
One of the fundamental pillars of the Seville Aquarium is caring for the environment, especially the oceans. This commitment has motivated the aquarium to develop, since its opening, different sustainability projects aimed at various audiences.
For the 2019/2020 school year, the aquarium presents two sustainable activities to raise awareness among schoolchildren about the importance of caring for the oceans. Two activities aimed at different education cycles, but with a common goal, to help reduce the consequences of climate change and marine litter.
“The Reduce and GO challenge and the Ocean Without Plastics Project are two actions that we have developed with three objectives: to educate and teach the keys to improving the environment; to motivate through group work and collaborative activities; and to raise awareness to instill lasting values to create a sustainable future” states Susana Montero, Education Director of the Seville Aquarium.
These projects align with the new sustainability strategy of the Global Omnium Group (the company that has managed the Seville Aquarium since late 2017), which aims to contribute to meeting the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations and reduce its carbon footprint.
A strategy that has been in the works since last year and was reflected when the Seville Aquarium became the first aquarium in the world to certify its carbon footprint, thanks to investments made to improve energy efficiency and hydraulic efficiency. This certificate has recently been verified again by the external entity AENOR, which has motivated the launch of the following projects.
“Reduce and GO” Challenge
The “Reduce and GO” challenge is one of the most innovative sustainable mobility projects today, aimed at promoting environmental actions in the school and family environment.
A project in which primary school students who book an educational activity at the aquarium can offset the carbon footprint of their visit by participating in this challenge.
The overall goal of “Reduce and GO” is to save 500 kilometers of coral reefs among all participating classes. To achieve this, they will have to accumulate 250,000 sustainable kilometers with the help of their family and carry out environmental activities in their school.
A challenge that seeks collaboration among all schools in Seville and will reward the classes that achieve the most kilometers because they will be the ones who have helped the most to care for the oceans.
“Ocean Without Plastics” Project
For secondary school students (ESO and Baccalaureate), the aquarium has developed an annual project focused on achieving a plastic-free ocean, using as a common thread one of the environmental problems that most concerns society today, marine litter and within this, microplastics.
A project divided into three phases that will allow aquarium educators to visit participating classes for the development of a practical part, students to learn how marine litter affects different ecosystems with a visit to the aquarium, and in the final phase, students to work in groups on different actions to reduce their impact on the marine environment.
The project will culminate in a congress in the new Global Omnium Auditorium (located in the aquarium facilities) where there will be conferences and other activities of interest, and participants will present their projects.
The two best projects (chosen by an expert jury) will be invited to take a trip to a beach or river to clean up their shores and thus be able to determine and classify the type of waste that can be found there.