An inspiring feature documentary with a powerful youth "take action" message!
A Cafeteria Culture production
Directed and Produced by Atsuko Quirk and Debby Lee Cohen
Featuring P.S. 15 Brooklyn 5th graders and experts:
Judith Enck, Marcus Eriksen, Racheal Z. Miller, and Chelsea M. Rochman
Directed and Produced by Atsuko Quirk and Debby Lee Cohen
Featuring P.S. 15 Brooklyn 5th graders and experts:
Judith Enck, Marcus Eriksen, Racheal Z. Miller, and Chelsea M. Rochman
Next NYC screening - December 13th, 3:30 PM
Free with registration ->
hosted by NYC Department of Education, Office of Sustainability
and Teachers College, Columbia University
more upcoming screenings->
If you already saw Microplastic Madness, please share your feedback here -->
Free with registration ->
hosted by NYC Department of Education, Office of Sustainability
and Teachers College, Columbia University
more upcoming screenings->
If you already saw Microplastic Madness, please share your feedback here -->
Microplastic Madness is the story of 56 fifth graders from P.S. 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn, - living on the frontline of the climate crisis- whose actions on plastic pollution morph into extraordinary leadership and scalable victories. With stop-motion animation, heartfelt kid commentary, and interviews of experts and renowned scientists who are engaged in the most cutting edge research on the harmful effects of microplastics, this alarming, yet charming narrative, conveys an urgent message in user-friendly terms. These eleven year olds dice deep into the root causes of plastic pollution. Taking on the roles of citizen scientists and community advocates, they collect local data, lead community outreach, and use their own local data to inform policy by testifying and rallying at City Hall. Then they turned their focus back to school, taking action in their cafeteria to eliminate all single-use plastic! Created to inspire kids, teachers and policy makers alike, this is the spark needed to grow a youth-led Plastic Free Future movement in schools across NYC and beyond!
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES - coming soon!Your tax deductible donation will help us to fund these urgently needed resources!
Microplastic Madness - the movie & toolkit - will be the centerpiece of a youth-led campaign for a plastic free future.
With schools as hubs for change, Cafeteria Culture's toolkits will provide students and school communities with the resources to lead Plastic Free Future campaigns, working towards eliminating all single-use plastic packaging in schools and increasing awareness of the plastic pollution/climate crisis connection. Upcoming resources include:
WHY CAFETERIA CULTURE?CAFETERIA CULTURE led the movement to rid schools of styrofoam!
CAFETERIA CULTURE, founded in 2009 as Styrofoam Out of Schools, catalyzed the complete elimination of polystyrene (commonly called, styrofoam) trays from all New York City public schools and now ten other cities. This victory has resulted in the elimination of over half a billion polystyrene trays per year from landfills, incinerators and student meals across the US! We are ready to win the next plastic-free victory in school cafeterias across the country with a national student-led campaign to eliminate all single-use plastic packaging! CAFETERIA CULTURE's YouTube channel, Cafcu Media has 22 MILLION views! Atsuko Quirk - Microplastic Madness Director and Cafeteria Culture Media Director - created the documentary, "SCHOOL LUNCH IN JAPAN - It's not just about eating" to inspire students and adults in NYC schools to infuse the lunch period with student leadership and gratitude as a way to reduce waste. After igniting Cafeteria Culture's Cafeteria Ranger program, the movie went viral and has been inspiring many, many millions of people, young and old, across the globe! Now with Microplastic Madness, we are ready to inspire many millions of people to stop using single-use plastics. Students can collect their own local data, lead community outreach, and take action. Multiplying thousands of youth-led actions, we can create a domino effect that drives global change forward from the ground up! CAFETERIA CULTURE has been teaching and sharing cutting edge environmental curriculum since 2012 Our team pilots innovative classroom and cafeteria education in NYC schools. Our programs engage student as the designers of solutions to achieve zero waste schools and to reduce single-use plastic. The PLASTIC FREE WATERS curriculum merges citizen science and civic participation with the arts and media production. Students use their own, local data to inform policy in their communities and citywide. Our students, overwhelmingly from low-income communities of color, are providing an urgently needed voice in NYC’s environmental movement. From 2017-19, Cafeteria Culture has been leading Professional Development trainings for teachers through the New York City Department of Education Offices of Sustainability and Service in Schools, as well as at our partner schools. We have been sharing a beta version of our Plastic Free Waters lessons and asking for teacher feedback. Our experience has shown us that teachers are clamoring for hands-on lessons and activities that connect the plastic marine pollution problem to citizen science and civc leadership, as well as to multiple subject areas, including Science, Social Studies, English Language Arts, and the Arts. CAFETERIA CULTURE wins awards for our innovative education! Cafeteria Culture was honored to be one of only five North American organizations to receive an inaugural UL Innovative Education Award (2015) for advancing environmental STEM education, sustainable communities, and youth empowerment (read what the judges said). Cafeteria Culture received an Environmental Quality Award from the US EPA Region 2 in 2013 and a competitive US EPA Region 2 Trash Free Waters grant for our “Community Arts+Media for Trash Free Waters” program for 3 NYC public schools, sparking the idea for this movie. HELP us to share this movie
and to reach new audiences! Together we can spark a PLASTIC FREE FUTURE Youth Movement! 
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