KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Education Ministry is encouraging school administrators to engage their students in positive activities to mark World Environment Day which will be celebrated on Tuesday, under the theme: ‘Beat Plastic Pollution – If You can’t Reuse it, Refuse it’.        

The day is used by the United Nations’ to heighten global awareness and action for the protection of the environment.

A bulletin issued by the ministry stated that the Health and Family Life Unit is asking all schools to make a conscious effort to promote environmental wellness.

Schools have been offered suggestions on activities they can engage in on the day. These include: ‘litter licking’, where a school or community litter collection day is organised; ‘plogging’, which sees students and teachers participating in a jogging exercise around the school community while picking up trash.   

There is also the ‘re-cycle rave’, in which students sort through garbage collected, for recyclable items; ‘field trip’, which enables the youngsters to visit a recycling plant or disposal site; ‘environmental guardians’, which sees students to make bird feeders from recycled materials or decorate garbage bins; and ‘join the global #BeatPlasticPollution game of tag’, which encourages students and staff to take selfies with their canvas shopping bag, metal straw or any other reusable product and tag five friends, inviting them to do the same. Persons tagged should post a photo with their reusable item within 24 hours.  

Additionally, there is the ‘Plastic Reduction Pledge’, which invites students and teachers to make a plastic-reduction pledge, affirming their commitment to reducing their school’s use of disposable plastic and tagging another institution and challenging their counterparts to do the same activities in promoting observance of this important day.    

The World Environment Day campaign was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972, and is celebrated annually on June 5.