ORCID
- Kayleigh J. Wyles: 0000-0003-3205-9595
Abstract
As human behaviors play a crucial role in addressing the global threat of plastic pollution, it is vital to understand perceptions about marine plastic litter (MPL) and to develop interventions encouraging pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). This study evaluates story writing as a window to explore perceptions and as an engagement activity to boost PEBs. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, schoolchildren from the East Pacific coast participated in this activity, each creating a story and answering a pre-post survey. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of 81 stories and 79 surveys show awareness of sources and impacts. Participants identified land and local pollution as significant contributors to MPL and emphasized bio-ecological impacts, reflecting concern for landscape and wildlife. While the stories presented a diversity of solutions, recycling dominated the surveys. As participants reported an increase in self-assessed knowledge and improved PEBs after this activity, it can be seen as an engagement tool to encourage behavior change.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2023-01-01
Publication Title
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Volume
186
ISSN
0025-326X
Acceptance Date
2022-11-28
Deposit Date
2023-11-01
Embargo Period
2023-12-14
Funding
This research received funding from the Galapagos Conservation Trust and the Global Challenges Research Fund (NE/V005448/1) as part of the Pacific Plastics: Science to Solutions programme. DDV holds a fellowship from the Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo de Chile (ANID Doctorado Nacional/2018–21181806). EP's work was supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (grant number AH/R012733/1) through the White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities. Additional support was received through a Pew Marine Conservation Fellowship to MT. Both for a broader diffusion and for inter-coder reliability, the stories were translated from Spanish to English by volunteers of the Galapagos Conservation Trust.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Praet, E., Baeza-Álvarez, J., De, V., Holtmann-Ahumada, G., Jones, J., Langford, S., Dearte, J., Schofield, J., Thiel, M., & Wyles, K. (2023) 'Bottle with a message: The role of story writing as an engagement tool to explore children's perceptions of marine plastic litter', Marine Pollution Bulletin, 186. Available at: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114457
