Plastic Tides: Global Youth Mentorship (GYM) Program

Through our five years of working with students, we have recognized a lack of support and encouragement for their individual projects. Our Global Youth Mentorship (GYM) Program connects motivated youth with passionate mentors to achieve lasting change through projects that divert plastic waste from its source. With GYM’s roots in youth empowerment, we address plastic pollution at the global scale through the local impact of our youth’s projects. The GYM Program offers the tools and support to guide kids on their personal mission to stop plastic pollution, developing confident youth who will continue to be involved in their respective communities and lead the fight against climate change. As developing countries are most affected by plastic pollution and climate change, we’re focused on connecting with students where we have done work in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

Youth have a unique voice and remarkable power to drive change, and need guidance to make their voices heard. Many motivated youth do not have access to resources to help them reach their potential. The ease with which land-based litter makes its way into the oceans means that we are seeing exponential impact in coastal towns and waters, in terms of health and cleanliness of local populations and sea creatures. Plastic pollution is a global scale issue, which needs to be addressed worldwide. Youth involvement is also global, both the potential for growth and the feeling of resistance some youth face as they try to take on projects. Youth face the challenge of scale and output, while also having the difficulty of accountability. Pathways for action are often inaccessible to youth ages 12-18, the population which we engage through our GYM Program by providing tools and support to amplify their passion for the seas and to cause change. We will engage 100 youth this year, many of them residing in areas in Latin America that have plastic pollution problems. Our youth program will provide these students with support to take action and freedom to affect change in their own way.

Plastic Tides works to mitigate plastic pollution in our world’s oceans, as our oceans are shared and loved by all who are lucky enough to know them. Our focus is on each youth that enters our program, and the effect that they can have locally. Each Youth Leader will work to educate others and change daily habits, moving away from the plague of plastic. With origins in Bermuda, Plastic Tides’ team members are located throughout the United States, Guatemala, the Philippines, and other locations. Our members and youth leaders are located around the world, and our projects have global impacts. With this degree of global involvement, our network works to create change present in each community, especially those in need. Throughout 2020, we plan to grow our global presence, and have a greater impact in the communities which we already serve, as well as branch out to guide new communities and countries in our mission toward a plastic-free culture.

The GYM Program pairs each Youth Leader with a mentor, and provides the tools, agency, and support to pursue independent projects. We provide a step-by-step action plan for students and their mentor that results in lasting change in their schools and communities. The mentor-mentee relationship is crucial to the program’s success and develops lasting relationships between Plastic Tides’ members and our motivated Youth Leaders. Youth Leaders have the option to choose from our established project models, or they can create their own with their mentor’s guidance. One such project would be switching a school’s plastic utensils to metal utensils; each project engages youth in a way to decrease the flow of plastic. Our projects start at the community level, and grow globally as changes are made. The projects aim toward changing behavior, focusing on habits that encourage and support a plastic-free lifestyle. By raising awareness of projects in their local communities, our Youth Leaders magnify the effects of their work when others make the same changes the youth promote through their own work. With GYM rooted in a project-based approach, we can track our progress and improve upon our methods as the program continues to maximize the positive outcomes of the projects. The nature of these project models will allow us to confidently track the success and growth of the program, optimizing its reach and growing our presence in local communities who are eager to take action against plastic pollution. Through the progress of these projects, in 2020, we will support 20 local reusable bag drives, 20 reusable water bottle drives, and 10 local bag bills involving fees and bans, resulting in a decrease in plastic waste that makes its way into the oceans. The youth-led and mentor-guided GYM projects, as well as other action-based approaches, drive our mission closer to a plastic-free lifestyle. By starting with youth, a circle of education is born, where the students eventually become the teachers, inspiring generations to come.

Our project models differ from other youth ambassador programs by the way we provide step-by-step action plans for our involved youth and mentors. The outcomes of our projects produce lasting change that can be seen in local communities, as well as having positive global effects. Our project models are quantitative in nature, allowing for tracking and calculation of the outcomes. The GYM Program will graduate confident youth, with experience and further motivation to cause change. 

The outcome we strive to achieve is twofold; confident, determined youth, leading the way to mitigate plastic pollution. The nature of GYM leads to global impact through local, grassroots actions. With GYM rooted in a project-based approach, we can track our progress and improve upon our methods to allow for growth and adaptation as the Program continues, growing our presence in communities who are eager to take action against plastic pollution. As the projects are implemented by the involved Youth, their work will lead to an exponential decrease of the amount of plastic entering waterways as time goes on. As each Youth completes their own project, they inspire their peers, as well as the next generation, to take action to cause positive change. 

Our solution has positive impacts environmentally and socially, engaging youth to work toward plastic pollution mitigation. Plastic Tides' recent accomplishments include a county-wide ban of microplastics in Tompkins County, NY, switched schools from plastic utensils to metal, and pushed for a ban of plastic straws in New York City. The projects implemented through the GYM Program will continue to support our goals of decreasing the plastic footprint of communities globally.

In 2020, we aim to divert 50,000 pounds of plastic from the waste stream. This goal will be accomplished through growing the GYM Program, and supporting reusable water bottle drives, reusable bag drives, moving schools away from plastic utensils, and supporting local plastic ban legislature (bans or fees). We will accomplish these goals by engaging 100 motivated Youth, pairing them with 20 mentors, and guiding them through the progress of their independent projects.

Plastic Tides is currently supported by three full time team members, as well as multiple interns. We are supported by a Board of Directors, as well as the involvement of our Youth Ambassadors.

Our volunteer mentors are members of Plastic Tides who are already familiar with our mission and the issue of plastic pollution. The mentors work with our Youth Leaders to to work toward their chosen project, guiding them throughout the duration of the project. Remote mentorship means that we can scale the Program without increasing overhead costs, which is a win-win situation. The GYM Program provides our general membership with a unique opportunity to become involved in our organization, and take action in ways that may not have been feasible on their own. Our team members are both passionate and experienced, and eager to lead the next generation through empowering actions to proactively protect and retroactively clean our oceans and coastal communities. 

Plastic Tides has established partnerships with Croakies, Pathwater, YETI, and Clif, as we actively grow our community. We believe that it takes a diversified approach working from multiple angels to tackle the problem of plastic pollution; there is no single solution to solve the issue.

Plastic Tides is funded through a combination of membership dues, grants, donations, and partnerships. 

We believe that it takes a diversified approach working from multiple angles to tackle the problem of plastic pollution; there is not a single solution to solve the issue. At Plastic Tides, we are approaching it from the angle of empowering youth and guiding them to cause change. There are many organizations combating environmental and social issues, and each organization has a unique approach. We would consider partnering with organizations with goals similar to ours, working toward a healthier, happier Earth.