Boothbay Sea and Science Center (BSSC) thrives on giving children the educational awareness of our rapidly changing world. BSSC does this in many ways including hands on learning, guest speakers, and creative expression.

During Session IV (Tracking Trash: The Secret Lives of Trash) we created a mural that we aptly titled Trash to Treasure. Led by our principal instructor Amy Palmer, our youth ages 5 to 17 learned about where their trash and recycling go once it is thrown into the garbage can. One of the great lessons learned during this two-week session is that waste doesn't always have to lay in a landfill somewhere, it can be made into art.

Consequently, we went around Ocean Point Marina and collected trash shoreside, on the water, dockside and, additionally, we brought recycling from home. From this we created a mural representing each age group's favorite marine animal. The intent ... to share the message that what we are doing with our trash is affecting the planet a lot more than people realize. The plastic bag that you see floating around in the street might end up in the stomach of a whale, stuck on a coral reef or wrapped around the neck of a bird.  In the end, we all came to understand the necessity to recycle and, when possible, upcycle. And we also came to the realization that the next generation of stewards are engaged in their learning by thoughtfully and creatively finding new ways to make our world a cleaner and better place. 

Juliet Fluty was a BSSC summer 2021 science instructor and is a sophomore at the University of New England.