WE’VE GOT A CAUSE... NO MORE STRAWS! KIDS’ MESSAGE ON PLASTIC BATTLE

THE pupils at Sunnyside Primary in Glasgow’s East End want rid of plastic – and they are not messing about. This dedicated bunch of young people want an end to plastic straws and they are already well on the way to convincing teachers, parents, local businesses and even some big company bosses.

“People say they want to make the world a better place, but we’re not going to do that if we keep using plastic,” explains 11-year-old Duncan Watson, who is in primary seven.

“We have to stop using plastic straws because it is not right for the world, the environment and the animals.”

Sunnyside’s #NaeStrawAtAw campaign was already up and running before the Prime Minister announced last week she was waging war on plastic. Theresa May’s proposed policies include plastics-free aisles in supermarkets and a tax on takeaway containers, with the aim of eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within 25 years.

The pupils launched their campaign on social media last September after estimating they threw away around 38,000 school milk straws every year - and learning how plastic can kill seabirds, fish, turtles and cetaceans.

As principal teacher Lisa Perrie explains, the children are now in discussions with businesses and other schools about ending the use of plastic straws and adopting more eco-friendly alternatives.

“Our pupils have always been passionate about looking after the environment – we are a conservation school and our motto is ‘we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children,” she adds.

“There’s no-one better than young people when it comes to campaigning for or policing something – when they get the bit between their teeth, there is no stopping them, and our pupils are doing an incredible job.

“They raised money to buy samples of paper and plant-based biodegradable straws to show retailers alternatives and plan to launch a new website later this year to encourage more people to join the cause.”

Sunnyside is one of almost 90 Glasgow primaries, nurseries and Additional Learning Support (ASL) units which have signed up to the city council’s Schools Charter, backed by the Evening Times Streets Ahead campaign. The charter means schools pledge to complete at least three environmental tasks or projects a year.

The school set up an Ocean Defenders group as part of their charter projects.

To highlight the effect of plastic on seabirds, they created a sculpture of a gannet out of milk cartons and papier-mache.

The sculpture, which won a Keep Scotland Beautiful competition prize, has a transparent stomach filled with fish and plastic waste to show the dangers in our oceans.

Sunnyside’s Ocean Defenders group raised almost £1000 for a whale and dolphin conservation charity; pupils also sponsor six dolphins in the Moray Firth and a wild orca in Canada and the school won a competition to name a killer whale calf, now known globally as Tide.

Through their links with Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas initiative, Sunnyside children met with pupils at Ullapool Primary, who joined the Glasgow school’s campaign.

Lisa Perrie explains: “Our pupils travelled to Wester Ross to help their peers lobby local businesses to ditch plastic straws and the results were spectacular – all of the village’s pubs, restaurants and cafes stopped using them.

“We were delighted that Ullapool Primary came on board to help us with the first stage of our campaign. It is an amazing success!”

She adds: “The campaign is really gathering pace and generating a lot of interest. The pupils are drumming up support by contacting other schools and businesses with presentations about the harm plastic waste can do and how micro plastic is entering food chains.

“They have already had a lot of positive feedback.”

She smiles: “The teachers have heard some great stories from parents – such as going through a fast food drive-in and their children telling the cashier they want NaeStrawAtAw with their drinks and to keep their plastic cup lids….”

Pupils Megan Reilly, 11, and seven-year-olds Amber Greenfield and Olivia Paterson, are keen to spread the word about #NaeStrawAtAw.

Megan says: “I’m really passionate about the world we live in. It would be fine if it weren’t for us. It would be a much better place and there would be much less global warming and more healthy marine life.”

Amber adds: “We made the gannet with the sore tummy because we were learning about seabirds. There