MSU SWAPS Program

282 bottles eliminated already!

The SWAPS team stopped by the Pascagoula Civic Center to see a water refill station they donated last month. Access to refill stations helps promote sustainable choices like using refillable water bottles. This fountain has already eliminated 282 plastic water bottles!

St. Martin students closed out their school year with a trip to the beach! With some SWAPS participants in attendance we hosted several activities including kayaking, seining, litter surveying, and a nurdle patrol!

Onto summer session activities ☀️

Mrs. McKenna’s class took part in a virtual reality litter cleanup today! This application was developed by partners at the MSU Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering to connect people from all backgrounds to current marine debris issues.

Read more on this app and its related research by reading “Marine debris awareness improvement using immersive virtual reality” in the Marine Pollution Bulletin journal.

The final module is one near and dear to our hearts—getting active in litter reduction programs!

Students will spend a short time in the classroom leaning about global, national, and local efforts in data collection, litter prevention, removal, and the importance of education and outreach. The lab portion will immerse students in a virtual reality marine debris program and get them involved in a (real life) cleanup on campus.

We hope this first semester of SWAPS has been as successful as it feels ♻️

The hands-on portion of this module included a little DIY!

Students made their own beeswax wraps, lotion bars, and mycelium flower pots to help reduce their single-use plastic efforts—and have a little fun in the lab.