“We, the children of primary 6/7 at Taynuilt Primary School in Scotland, wanted to communicate a message about what people are doing to the environment in relation to plastic pollution in our oceans.” Our Plastic Oceans is a collective effort of art, science education, and action that aims to bring awareness to the imminent issue of microplastic pollution. 

 

Crùbag teamed up with Renuka and together they began to piece together a story for microplastic pollution to be told through the medium of print, and particularly through a merging of Crùbag and Renuka's dynamic signature styles. 

 

Inspired by the chance to engage with the public on such a topical issue upon receiving positive feedback from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (S.A.M.S) , Crùbag turned its focus towards the next generation.  The pupils of Class 6 at Taynuilt Primary School were invited to S.A.M.S to gain a better understanding of how microplastics came to be, through a tour of the labs and equipment used to research microplastic presence in the local environment, a visit to the Ocean Explorer Centre, as well as an impromptu beach clean up, giving the children an opportunity to get their hands dirty by attempting their own data collection and sampling fieldwork. 

 

Further to this first workshop, Renuka and Jessica travelled to Taynuilt to lead a design session with the students.  The objective here was to demonstrate the power of design to express and communicate a concept or issue. Using the knowledge gained on microplastics as well as any objects collected from their beach cleanup, the pupils were shown various mark making and monoprinting techniques, which they used to create collages and imagery of their visions for the marine future.  The students had the opportunity to share their thoughts, inspirations and concerns alongside their final pieces, and these beautiful artworks now envelop the covers of  'Our Plastic Oceans' notebooks, a tribute to a future that is at a tipping point - made by those who will be at the helm.  Part of the proceeds go to S.A.M.S to support research in this field, as well as to Taynuilt Primary School to support microplastic pollution research at charities or institutions like S.A.M.S as well as buying science equipment for the school that  may otherwise be inaccessible.  

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The notebook collection is available to buy here