173,460 school children from across the UK have collected half a million plastic bottle tops and transformed them into intricate art murals and life-sized sculptures of creatures polluted by single use plastic
From a colossal seahorse, to a giant angler fish and a sneaky seagull stealing chips, the stunning sculptures have been built to highlight the creatures they’d love to protect and that at least 8 million tons of plastic waste ends up in the environment each year. The message? Be the solution, not the pollution.
The Message in a Bottle Top campaign, led by sustainable composite decking brand Composite Prime in collaboration with the National Schools Partnership, is now in its second year and has been built in line with the national curriculum, providing more than 2,000 schools, 2,100 teachers and approximately 283,892 pupils with learning resources across art, maths, science and citizenship.
The young change-makers, all aged between 5-11 years old, were keen to take part in the campaign to demonstrate their passion for the planet. Seth, age 5, a pupil in Reception at West Denton Primary School said: “Seeing plastic bags around turtles made me angry and scared. They think it’s food and it gets stuck in their tummy. The plastic is hurting our sea friends and spoils their home. It’s not fair!”
In addition to the sculptures, many schools crafted heartfelt poems and songs including this poem written by children at Pevensey & Westham Church of England Primary School in East Sussex.
Tell me a story, Grandad, of how it used to be,
When water filled this plastic pit
My mind’s eye cannot see!
You say it held lots of life; all around it too,
Tell me a story, Grandad, of how it’s changed; what’s new?
When I was a young boy, the hole was a delight!
Many creatures flourished here,
Such a magical sight!
Everything from larvae to the mighty swan
It breaks my heart now, to see that they’re gone.
What other creatures, Grandad, did you used to see?
You say that they have gone away,
But how could that be?
If this pond was so good then I really have to know –
These other creatures, Grandad; where did they all go?
Dragonflies, damselflies, over the surface flew,
Frogs and newts and sticklebacks hid where the lilies grew,
Moorhen, dabbling ducks and mighty swan
Because of us and our plastic ways,
Have left and now are gone.
Children from a special education school in Weston-super-Mare, Westhaven School, went the extra mile and submitted a video performance of a thought provoking poem they wrote to accompany their sculpture of a seagull pinching chips.
Overall, 1,239 schools from across the UK have taken part in this year’s Message in a Bottle Top campaign.
Mrs Ralph, head teacher at St Michael and All Angels Catholic School in Birkenhead said: “This project inspired the whole school community and united everyone in a common cause and goal. Working together to make a difference has benefited the children enormously in so many ways. They gained huge amounts of knowledge but most importantly it has made a difference to their own ‘eco warrior’ efforts in school and at home.“
Nathan Armstrong, a teacher from a special educational needs school in Belfast, Oakwood School and Assessment Centre added: “The children loved creating the artwork. They have complex medical needs and follow a sensory curriculum; we have a sensory room where our new tactile turtle lives to enhance children’s learning.
“The children like to touch it and look at it from lots of different angles and see how the light changes. Pupils were great at collecting bottle tops, and their families and friends were, as always, very supportive.”
Composite Prime is committed to raising awareness about plastic waste and has saved the equivalent of 176 million plastic milk bottle tops from landfill. The brand creates eco-friendly and socially responsible decking and cladding products, made using recycled plastic and FSC® certified oak wood flour.
Commenting on the children’s artwork, Composite Prime director, Charles Taylor said: “It is so inspiring to see the younger generation so passionate about making the world a better place and teaching their friends, family and community about the importance of recycling and reusing plastic waste. We feel very strongly about protecting our planet and, with the race to preserve our wildlife and the environment growing more urgent every day, educating children about how we can play our part to tackle the problem is absolutely crucial.”
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