Microplastic everywhere

Due to high winds and simple erosion, our garden fence became in a state that we couldn’t ignore any more and felt obliged to replace it. Unfortunately, the process also included the workmen removing some of the vegetation that made our garden so wildlife friendly. While we were sad about this, luckily we still have a pond, surrounded by overgrown plants and a tree which provides safe heaven to birds and insects. 

But what we weren’t prepared for was what we found when clearing up the garden once the new fence panels were in place. Amongst the soil we found hundreds of small pieces of plastic. The children weren’t familiar with the concept of microplastic but now they are. We tried to remove the larger pieces of plastic - no small feat to pick out black plastic from the black soil - it was clear that the soil is riddled with plastic our eyes can’t see. 

I explained some of the issues with microplastic to the children, for example, how the chemicals from the plastic leach into the soil and through the roots of plants into our food and bodies. They have always been conscious of plastic and this helped them understand another aspect of the importance of avoiding this useful but frankly, evil substance.