Abstract:

Barely a century has passed since the patent of the first completely synthetic plastic (Bakelite, in 1907) to the current huge annual plastic production, which is close to 400 million metric tonnes worldwide. Shortly after the popularization of plastics, the first environmental problems associated with them began to emerge: in the 1960s, the ingestion of plastics by birds and the appearance of marine animals entangled in them were reported. In 1972, the detection of microplastics (MPs, defined as small plastic particles lesser than 5 mm) in the marine environment was documented for the first time, as well as their identification as matrices for the adsorption of other pollutants. Therefore, plastics were no longer deemed dangerous in themselves, but also as carriers for other hazardous substances, such as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). Fortunately, in the last decades society has been showing a greater consciousness-raising about plastic pollution and its implications in health. As a result, environmental-friendly politics and legislations have become more popular as a reflect of this concern. Thus, ambitious research projects which aims to address the plastic pollution problem from a holistic perspective and with an international scope are more indispensable than ever.

IMPLAMAC is an international research project aimed at assessing the impact of MPs and CECs on the coasts of Macaronesia, a group of volcanic islands in the North Atlantic which share certain natural characteristics and include the archipelagos of Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Cape Verde. The project has taken place between 2019 and 2023, involving the collaboration of 6 universities and research centres in these archipelagos, and led by the University of La Laguna (Canary Islands, Spain). The project had also a significant community involvement component, especially after the sanitary restrictions following to the COVID-19 pandemic: since January 2021, the project’s scientific findings were recurrently communicated to society through talks, workshops, fairs, and other educational events, looking for increasing the awareness among the general public about the matter of plastic pollution.

In this communication, we share our enriching experience during these years in which we performed more than 50 scientific dissemination activities. We include herein tips for the preparation of science fair’s stands and for the design of striking educational talks, theoretical and practical ludic activities, and collaborative tasks, as well as the characteristics and responses of the target public. It is hoped that this guideline may be used as inspiration for any kind of scientific dissemination performance in any part of the world.

Keywords:

Science fair, citizen science, multidisciplinary action, itinerary stand, spreading scientific knowledge.