Questions for discussionVolcanoes Explained

1. Summarise the BTN Volcanoes Explained story. 2. Where in the world have we recently seen volcanic eruptions? Locate using Google Maps.3. What does Volcan de Fuego mean?4. Complete this sentence. The Volcan de Fuego sent _____ and molten _______ 10 kms

into the air. 5. What impact have the volcanic eruptions had on people and the environment?6. What is magma?7. There aren’t any active volcanoes in Australia. True or false?8. What is the Ring of Fire?9. Describe the difference between a Hawaiian eruption and a pyroclastic flow. 10. Illustrate an aspect of the BTN story.

Check out the Volcanoes Explained resource on the Teachers page.

FIFA World Cup 20181. Discuss the BTN story with another student.2. The FIFA World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world. True or false?3. How many people watched the World Cup in 2014?

a. 32,000 b. 32 millionc. 3.2 billion

4. Where did the ball which will be used in the 2018 World Cup’s opening match recently spend some time?

5. In which country will the 2018 World Cup be held? Locate using Google Maps.6. Why are some people unhappy about this year’s host country?7. How may teams have qualified for the 2018 World Cup?8. What is the name of the Australian team?9. Australia’s youngest and newest player, 19-year-old Daniel Arzani, is also the youngest in

the entire competition. True or false? 10. What did you learn watching the BTN story?

Do the quiz on the BTN website.

Plastic Pollution Problems1. Discuss the BTN story with another student. Share your thoughts with the class. 2. What organisation recently launched a campaign to cut back on plastic pollution?3. How many pieces of plastic do Australians throw out every year?

a. 9,000b. 9 million

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Episode 1612h June 2018

c. 9 billion4. Which plastic items make up the majority of Australia’s plastic pollution?5. In Australia where does most of our plastic end up?6. In some places overseas why is plastic pollution a massive problem?7. How is plastic pollution affecting sea life?8. Complete this sentence. Experts say if something isn't done soon there'll be more

___________ than fish in the ocean by 2050.9. What are people doing to tackle plastic pollution?10. What did this video make you wonder? Discuss as a class.

Check out the Plastic Pollution Problems resource on the Teachers page. Get your class involved in BTN’s Ask A Reporter! This week’s topic is Plastic Pollution Problems.

Straw No More Campaign1. Discuss the BTN story as a class. What points were raised in the discussion?2. How is plastic pollution affecting animals?3. When did Molly start her Straw No More campaign?4. What message did Molly give in her TED talk?5. Approximately how many schools and businesses were convinced by Molly to go plastic

straw free?6. How has Molly’s campaign been received by local councils in Australia?7. What do you think is an alternative to single-use straws?8. What questions would you like to ask Molly?9. How has your thinking changed since watching the BTN story?10. Illustrate an aspect of this story.

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Kids take over the news1. What news stories are important to you? Discuss in pairs and share your thoughts with the

class. 2. What was Sofia’s story about? 3. What impact did Sofia’s letter to the Education Minister have on the policy for school

uniforms?4. Eliza talks about the 3 R’s in her report. What does she mean?5. Who did Thomas interview about moving year 7 to high school in SA?6. What did you learn about Huonville in Jessica’s report?7. What does Phoenix teach us about Indigenous dance?8. Describe a typical school day for Victorian student Sage.9. What was your favourite rookie report featured in this story? Why?10. If you were a rookie reporter, what would you report on? Why?

Find out more about being a rookie reporter. Visit BTN’s website and check out some stories from kids around Australia and the world for inspiration.

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Teacher Resource

Volcanoes Explained

1. Summarise the BTN Volcanoes Explained story, using your own words.

2. Where in the world have we recently seen volcanic eruptions? Locate using Google Maps.

3. What does Volcan de Fuego mean?4. Complete this sentence. The Volcan de Fuego sent _____ and

molten _______ 10 kms into the air. 5. What impact have the volcanic eruptions had on people and the

environment?6. What is magma?7. There aren’t any active volcanoes in Australia. True or false?8. What is the Ring of Fire?9. Describe the difference between a Hawaiian eruption and a

pyroclastic flow. 10. Illustrate an aspect of the BTN story.

Class discussionBefore watching the BTN Volcanoes story hold a class discussion to find out what your students know about volcanoes.

What do you know about volcanoes? Do you know about any active volcanoes? What are some of the things that might happen when a volcano

erupts? Make a list of words that are related to volcanoes. Have you heard about the recent volcanic eruptions in Hawaii and

Guatemala? What do you know about them?

After watching the BTN Volcanoes story, students will respond to the following questions:

What did you SEE in this video? What do you THINK about what you saw in this video? What does this video make your WONDER? What did you LEARN from this story? What was SURPRISING about this story?

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Episode 1612th June 2018

Students will investigate what causes volcanoes to erupt and the impact that volcanic eruptions can have on people and the environment.

Science / Science Understanding – Year 6Sudden geological changes and extreme weather events can affect Earth’s surface.

Science / Science as a Human Endeavour – Year 6Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena and reflects historical and cultural contributions.

Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions.

Science / Science Inquiry Skills – Years 5 & 6With guidance, pose clarifying questions and make predictions about scientific investigations.

KWLHFacilitate a class discussion after watching the BTN Volcanoes story. What questions were raised in the discussion and what are the gaps in their knowledge. The following KWLH organiser provides students with a framework to explore their knowledge on this topic and consider what they would like to know and learn.

What do I know?

What do I want to know?

What have I learnt?

How will I find out?

Think like a scientistStudents will start to think like scientists and develop their own question/s for inquiry, collecting and recording information from a wide variety of sources. Students may develop their own question for inquiry or select one or more of the questions below.

Why aren’t there any volcanoes in Australia? How can you tell if a volcano is active, dormant or extinct? Can we predict when a volcano will erupt? Explore further. What impact can volcanic eruptions have on people and the environment? Consider the negative

and positive effects.

Are your students curious about volcanoes? Choose one question about volcanoes that you would like answered as a class. Send your question into The Conversation for an expert answer. For example, Why doesn’t lava melt the side of volcanoes? Or Do most volcanologists die from getting too close to volcanoes?

GlossaryStudents will create a classroom glossary about volcanoes. Students will start by brainstorming words as a class using a mind map to record your responses. Add to your list of words by downloading the BTN Volcanoes Explained story transcript and highlighting all the words that relate to volcanoes. Students will find definitions for each term and consider using pictures and diagrams to illustrate meanings.

Lava Magma Molten rock Earth’s crust

Pacific plate Pyroclastic flow Hawaiian eruption Ring of fire

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GeographyOn a map of the world students will locate and highlight the major active and extinct volcanoes (including the volcanoes mentioned in the BTN Volcanoes Explained story). Students will then respond to the following:

Circle nearby cities and towns to each of the volcanoes you mark. Highlight the Ring of Fire on your map. What do you notice about the location of the volcanoes in relation to the Ring of Fire?

Further investigationStudents will draw a cross section of a volcano showing the following features: crust, mantle, crater, magma chamber, magma, ash, cloud, vent. Students will explain some of the features of each layer.

Scientific Experiment – VolcanoesProvide students with the opportunity to think and behave like scientists. In pairs or small groups, students will conduct a classroom experiment to see how volcanoes work.

Before starting this activity, introduce students to what a science investigation is and why we do them. Think of words that relate to “science investigation” and then find and explain their meanings. Here are some concepts to get you started: variable, observation, diagram, fair test and prediction.

Students will choose one of the following experiments to conduct in class:

Experiment 1: Lemon Volcano (YouTube video)

Experiment 2: Bi-carb soda volcano Experiment 3: Volcano in a bottle

Students will use the following investigation framework before, during and after their investigation.

What am I going to investigate?

What do I think will happen (prediction)?

Why do I think this will happen?

What steps do I need to follow to investigate my prediction?

What materials and equipment will I need? Make a list and draw and label each item.

Write a sentence that summarises what happened.

Was this what I expected? Yes or no.

BTN – Hawaii Volcanohttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4841022.htm

©ABC 2018

CBBC Newsround – Guide: What causes volcanoes?http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/33947859

National Geographic Kids – Volcano Factshttps://www.natgeokids.com/au/discover/geography/physical-geography/volcano-facts/

Geoscience Australia – Volcanoeshttp://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/hazards/volcano

BTN – Volcano Safetyhttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4274260.htm

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Teacher Resource

Plastic Pollution

1. Discuss the BTN story with another student. Share your thoughts with the class.

2. What organisation recently launched a campaign to cut back on plastic pollution?

3. How many pieces of plastic do Australians throw out every year?a. 9 thousandb. 9 millionc. 9 billion

4. Which plastic items make up the majority of Australia’s plastic pollution?5. In Australia where does most of our plastic end up?6. In some places overseas why is plastic pollution a massive problem?7. How is plastic pollution affecting sea life?8. Complete this sentence. Experts say if something isn't done soon

there'll be more ___________ than fish in the ocean by 2050.9. What are people doing to tackle plastic pollution?10. What did this video make you wonder? Discuss as a class.

Class Discussion Hold a class discussion about the information raised in the Plastic Pollution Problems story. Create a class mind map with PLASTIC in the middle. Use the following questions to guide discussion:

What are the benefits of plastic? What impact does plastic have on the environment? How much plastic do people in Australia throw away every year? What are the alternatives to using plastic? What are some solutions to the plastic pollution problem?

GlossaryStudents develop a glossary of words and terms that relate to the plastic pollution. Below are some words to get them started.

Reduce Reuse Recycle Pollution

Waste Biodegradable Microplastics Landfill

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Episode 1612th June 2018

Students will investigate the impact plastic has on the environment and explore solutions to the problem.

Geography Year 4The use and management of natural resources and waste, and the different views on how to do this sustainably.

HASS – Year 4Reflect on learning to propose actions in response to an issue or challenge and consider possible effects of proposed actions.

Science Year 4Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions. 

Science – Year 5 & 6Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions.

Science – Year 7Solutions to contemporary issues that are found using science and technology, may impact on other areas of society and may involve ethical considerations.

Plastics Research

Define: What do I want to know?

Key questions to researchStudents can choose one or more of the following questions or come up with their own:

How much plastic goes into the ocean? How long does plastic last in the ocean? What impact does plastic have on marine animals? What are microplastics? What impact do they have on the marine environment?

What are some solutions to the problem of plastic pollution?

Locate: Where do I find the information? What resources will help answer my questions? (Internet, people, resource centre, organisations, print). Discuss with students what a reliable source is.

Select: What information is important for the investigation? Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information.

Organise: How do I make sense of the information? Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each heading on a separate piece of paper. Record the information found for each question.

Present: How do we let others know about this information?Each group needs to discuss then decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities could include:

A `Did You Know’ Facts sheet Infographic Oral presentation Prezi presentation Create an infographic using Canva

Evaluate: What have we learnt?Each group reflects on what they have learnt about plastic pollution during their investigation. Students will reflect on their learning and respond to the following.

What I learned... What I found surprising...

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Kids making a differenceStudents will investigate ways they can make a difference to the problem of plastic pollution. Working in pairs brainstorm some solutions to the problem. For example, conducting a beach clean-up or reducing the amount of plastic packaging they use.They can take a look at kids who are making a difference on an environmental issue. Go to Molly’s Straw No More campaign website and check out her Ted Talk.

BTN has featured kids who are passionate about the issue with these stories Plastic Ocean Campaigner Plastic Bag Ban War on Waste School Discuss ways to present the information. Some ideas include:

Make a news report. Visit the BTN Rookie Reporter page for some ideas. Create a website using Wix Create a podcast using PodOmatic, Buzzsprout to share with the school community.

Watch the Microplastic Oceans story then answer the following questions:1. What are microplastics? Give some examples.2. What are microbeads and in which products might you find

them?3. About how many microbeads are there in a bottle of face

scrub?4. What percentage of plastic in the environment is

microplastic?5. Describe the impact they can have on marine animals.6. What are some Australian supermarkets doing to help tackle the problem?

Watch the Ocean Rubbish story then answer the following questions:1. How many pieces of plastic end up in the world’s oceans

every day?2. How does plastic get into the ocean?3. What can happen when plastics stay in the water for a long

time?4. What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?5. Explain Boyan Slat’s idea to clean up the garbage patch.

Watch the Plastic Packaging story then answer the following questions:1. How much rubbish does the average Aussie throw away in

one year?2. How did the company respond?3. What is `nude food’?4. What are the benefits of `nude food’?5. Describe what the kids in the BTN story are doing to reduce

the amount of food packaging they take to school.6. How can you make a difference? Working in pairs, come up with some ways you can avoid or

reduce the amount of food packaging you use?

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Recycled ArtStudents will explore ways to reuse plastic to create a piece of art or something useful. Discuss with students the benefits of reusing plastic to create objects. Here are some suggestions:

Reduces the amount of waste and therefore landfill Reduces the need for production using new or raw materials Saves money

Below are examples of ways plastic bottle tops can be used to create a mosaic artwork or soft drink bottles can be transformed into a vertical garden and pot planters. For more great ideas for reusing plastic bottles, go to the deMilked website or watch the Make pot planters from plastic bottles video on the ABC Education website.

Source:

deMilked

Source: deMilked Source: deMilked

ABC Rural – Plastic straws to be shelved by Woolworths this year as Coles commits to 90pc diversion from landfill by 2022http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-06-04/coles-pledges-to-wrap-plastic-use-woolworths-bans-straws/9831644

SBS News – How Woolworths, Coles are ramping up war on plastichttps://www.sbs.com.au/news/how-woolworths-coles-are-ramping-up-war-on-plastic

BTN – Plastic Ocean Campaignerhttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4813203.htm

©ABC 2018

BTN – Plastic Bag Banhttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4704469.htm

BTN - Ocean Rubbishhttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4301070.htm

BTN – Plastic Packaginghttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4422480.htm

BTN – Microplastic Oceanshttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4425888.htm

BTN – War on Waste Schoolhttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4689455.htm

BTN – Landfillhttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3953606.htm

©ABC 2018

BTN: Episode 16 Transcript 12/6/18Hey, Amelia here. Welcome to BTN. Coming up today.

We learn more about the problem of plastic pollution and meet a 10-year old who's doing her bit to help.

We get a bit excited about the World Cup.

And meet the kids who took over the news.

Volcanoes Explained

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: We'll take a look at all that soon. But first over the past week we've seen some dramatic images of a devastating volcanic eruption in Guatemala. Volcan de Fuego covered a village in ash and killed many people. It was a really different eruption to the one in Hawaii which is still going on. So, what made one volcano so much more deadly? Let's find out.

A volcanic eruption is nature at its most spectacular, but they can also be deadly. Here in the Central American country of Guatemala sits Volcan de Fuego or Volcano of Fire and just over a week ago this happened. It sent ash and molten rock 10 kilometres into the air, blanketing nearby towns and leaving at least 70 people dead while others are still missing.

At the same time, far away in Hawaii, Kilauea volcano is still erupting and while many homes have been destroyed, no one has died. So, what made the Guatemalan eruption so deadly? Well first, let's take a look below the surface of the earth to find out how volcanoes are formed.

Underneath the Earth's crust - that's the nice cool bit we live on and grow plants in - things get a lot hotter. In fact, the centre of the earth is as hot as the surface of the sun. That heat sends a lot of pressure out through the next layer, the Mantle. At some points, molten rock called magma pools at the surface of the mantle and breaks through weak points in the crust as a volcano.

There aren't any active volcanoes in Australia. The closest are over in New Zealand which is part of a big volcano chain known as the Ring of Fire. No, not that one. This Ring of Fire makes its way around the pacific plate. You see, the earth's outer layer is actually a bit like a jigsaw. It's broken into pieces, which are constantly and very slowly moving together. Where the jigsaw pieces meet there are often weak spots and gaps where volcanoes can form.

Hawaii's volcanoes aren't part of the ring of fire and when they erupt they tend to slowly spew out lava, which is what you call Magma when it reaches the surface. The name of this type of eruption is a Hawaiian eruption. Original, ha? In Hawaiian eruptions, the lava usually moves slowly enough that people can get out of the way.

But eruptions can be much more explosive. In some volcanoes pressure can built up until there's a sudden explosion of gas, ash, and hot bits of rock. That's called a pyroclastic flow. Pyroclastic flows move really quickly, which is why they're so dangerous, and that's what came from Volcan de

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Fuego in Guatemala. It was also a pyroclastic flow from Mount Vesuvius that buried the Roman city of Pompeii in 79 AD.

Eruptions like that are rare, but with millions of people living in the shadows of volcanoes, it's important that we know as much as we can about them. That's why experts are always working on better ways to predict when big eruptions are going to happen, so they can keep people as safe as possible from these fierce forces of nature.

Did you know?

The word volcano originally comes from the name of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.

This Week in News

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has destroyed hundreds more homes. Two seaside communities were swallowed by the lava last week. Most people had already been evacuated, but some had to be rescued by helicopter.

Back in Australia the Queen's birthday honours have been handed out. They're a really prestigious set of awards for people who've served the country in all sorts of areas from sport to science.

This year for the first time there are more women than men on the list. Swimming champ Dawn Fraser, geologist Erica Smyth and professor Rose Amal are among 6 women to become companions of the order of Australia the highest honour you can get in Australia.

Meanwhile on the East Coast a lot of Aussies have been spending their time picking up rubbish. All of this came from a ship which was on its way to Port Botany when it lost 83 containers. All sorts of stuff - from nappies to clocks and even car parts - washed up on the beach.

The Taiwanese company that owns the ship apologised for the mess and said it'd take responsibility for the clean-up. But many locals weren't happy to leave this stuff lying around and came to help out.

FIFA World Cup 2018

Reporter: Ruby Cornish

INTRO: If you're a soccer fan you'll probably already know what's happening this week. It's a little competition called the World Cup. You'll also know that there's nothing little about it. It's one of the world's biggest sporting competitions and this year’s is attracting a lot of excitement as well as a fair bit of controversy. Let's find out why.

For some it's a fun school sport, and for others, it's a passion or even a future career.

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ZANDER: When I grow up I would love to be a professional soccer player.

JACKSON: I sometimes see myself one day being one of the strikers or one of the defenders.

JACK: One day I wish I could play in the World Cup.

Yep, when it comes to soccer (or football as it's known in most places) it doesn't get any bigger than the FIFA World Cup. It's the most watched sporting event in the world. To call it popular is a bit of an understatement. FIFA reckons 3.2 billion people watched the last World Cup in 2014, which is approaching half the world's population.

And the hype is even reaching beyond planet earth. This match ball has spent the last few months floating around at the International Space Station and entertaining these guys, before coming back to earth for the Cup's opening match. So, as you might have guessed, getting to host the World Cup is a pretty big deal. And this year that honour goes to Russia, which appears to have president Vladimir Putin pretty excited. The magic will happen across 12 slick stadiums. But because Russia's such a big country, fans will be flying a long way between games. Still, tens of thousands of soccer fans are making the big journey to be part of the action.

But not everyone's happy about this year's host country. In the past few years Russia's drawn a lot of criticism from other countries for its role in spy scandals, international conflicts and the shooting down of a passenger plane over the Ukraine. Because of that, official representatives of the Australian and UK governments have decided not to join their teams over at the World Cup. There are some worries that tensions between Russia and other countries could lead to bad behaviour by fans at matches. But Russia says spectators have nothing to worry about.

Away from the controversy the teams are training hard. Our Aussie Socceroos are one of 32 teams that've qualified. Our youngest and newest player, 19-year-old Daniel Arzani, is also the youngest in the entire comp. His parents were pretty chuffed when they heard the news.

DANIEL'S FATHER: We all cried. So happy, so proud. I hope he'll make Australia proud too.

But while his career kicks off, superstar striker Timmy Cahill's is winding down. This will likely be his last World Cup, and if he scores he'll become one of just four players in history to have kicked goals in four world cups. Of course, if you want to catch that live here in Australia you'll have to give up a good night's sleep because of the time difference. The games will be on TV really late. Or super early. But these diehard fans aren't phased.

JACK: I plan on watching basically every game that Australia's in.

MAREE: I'll just have to wake up early in the morning and watch it before I get to school.

ZANDER: I might record some games but I'm gonna be up watching heaps.

Until the ref blows his starting whistle for game one, there's really only one more thing to say.

KIDS: Go Australia!

Sport

The Blues have taken out the first round of the State of Origin with a 10-point victory over the Maroons. It was a hard-fought match.

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New South Wales’ James Tedesco made the first try of the game. But Queensland fought back with tries from Valentine Holmes and Dane Gagai pushing the reds into the lead.

The Blues increased the intensity in the second half with this great try by Josh Addo-Carr. One of three newbies to score tries in the match. The game ended with a score of 22 to 12.

Rafael Nadal has won a record 11th French Open. He took out the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. 6-2. He's now racked up a grand total of 17 grand slam titles.

Meanwhile, Simona Halep has just won her first. She came from a set down to defeat Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

The Golden State Warriors have won the 2018 NBA championship. They dominated The Cavaliers in game 4 to win 108 to 85 and take out the best of 7 series in a sweep.

STEPH CURRY: Unbelievable feeling to come here on a mission and get the job done.

An Aussie has made ice hockey history. Nathan Walker's the first Australian to play in America's NHL. And now he's the first to win a championship. He helped the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.

Plastic Pollution Problems

Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Lately there's been a lot of talk about plastic. Which is no surprise really, because well, there's a lot of plastic out there and a lot of it is in places where it shouldn't be. The United Nations has just launched a campaign to cut back on plastic pollution and some big shopping chains have announced they'll be making some changes. Take a look.

It's been steadily growing, taking over our planet.

AMELIA: It was everywhere, everywhere I looked.

NIC: Well what was it?

AMELIA: It was plastic pollution.

And now it's so big, there's only one thing to do. It's time to take out the trash. Watch out humans. The plastic thing is coming.

REPORTER: Plastic might not seem that scary. After all it's something most of us use every day. But experts say for the environment plastic is a monstrous problem. Yup a recent study found that Aussies discard more than 9 billion pieces of plastic every year. The biggest culprits, single use coffee cups and plastic bags. In fact, if you lined up all of the coffee cups and plastic bags we've thrown out it would extend a whopping 1.47 million kilometres. Which is enough to stretch to the moon more than three times.

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Here in Australia, a fair bit of plastic is recycled but most is sent to landfill. Although some of it escapes into the environment. But in some places overseas, where it's not as easy to have your rubbish collected and recycled, plastic pollution is a massive problem. More than eight million tonnes of the stuff ends up in the world's oceans and that's putting our sea life in a really risky situation. More than a million sea birds and a hundred thousand marine mammals die from plastic every year. Like this whale that washed up on a beach in Thailand last week after swallowing 80 plastic bags. And experts say if something isn't done soon there'll be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.

What makes plastic so problematic for the environment is also what makes it so useful. It's cheap and it lasts a long time. Unlike paper or cardboard plastic takes a really, really long time to break down. So, the United Nations wants people to rethink how they use plastic and avoid single use packaging. On World Environment the UN launched a campaign encouraging people to tackle plastic pollution and tag their friends to do the same.

UN VIDEO: Tag I'm it. I tag Ellen Degeneres, Snoop Dawg and Barack Obama.

They're also encouraging people to clean up their local beaches, like these guys in Thailand who get together every week to pick up rubbish. And now Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles say they're going to do more to fight plastic pollution. By the end of the month they'll stop providing single use plastic bags in store and they say they'll be cutting down on the amount of plastic they use to wrap their fruit and vegies. Woolies says it's also going to be banning the sale of plastic straws by the end of the year. Environmental groups say that's a great start. But there's a lot more that needs to be done If we want to save the world from the Plastic Menace.

BTN Trivia

When was the first fully synthetic plastic invented? Was it in -

1947

1907

Or 1987

It was way back in 1907. It was made by a Belgium-born American, Leo Hendrik Baekeland and he called his invention Bakelite.

Ask a Reporter

Do you have a question about plastic? Ask me live on Friday during Ask a Reporter. Just head to our website for the details.

Straw No More Campaign

Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Great acting in that last story. Now speaking of plastic pollution you're about to meet a 10-year-old who's determined to do something about it. Molly started a campaign to rid the country - if not the planet - of plastic straws. And people are really listening. Let's hear her story.

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MOLLY: Hi BTN my name is Molly Steer and I'm here to tell you why straws really do suck. Straws might seem like the perfect thing to help quench your thirst. But they're actually causing some big problems for the environment. As you might of heard plastic pollution is a major problem on land and in the ocean where animals like sea birds, fish and turtles often mistake them for food. Which can make them really sick and even kill them.

I know that some of us need to use straws. But to most of us plastic straws are really unnecessary. We only use them for a few minutes before throwing them in the bin. And where does it go from there? Did you know that the very first plastic straw you ever used is still on this planet. That's why I'm on a mission to put an end to single use plastic straws. Last year I started a campaign called the Straw No More project. This me giving a Ted Talk back in October. My message was simple: living straw free is really simple all you need to do is make the decision to stop. And it seems to be working. After just one year of campaigning, I've convinced more than one hundred schools and heaps businesses, cafes and bars to do away with them for good. That's like millions of plastic straws that won't end up in landfill or the ocean.

But I didn't stop there with the help of my mum I emailed every council in Australia asking them to support the cause. And just last month I got up in front of my local council in Cairns to convince them to do the same. And, wait for it, it worked! The Cairns regional council have agreed to stop using plastic straws in their offices and events. And they're going to help local businesses to do the same. Now it seems like other places are starting to get the message. Recently the Brisbane Council announced they'll also be getting plastic straws from all council events too.

And it's not just hear in Australia. The UK has announced it'll be banning plastic straws from next year and there are few major cities in the US that have already banned them. Although I can't take credit for that, but it's still really good news. This isn't the end, it's just the beginning. I don't really care how long it takes. I just want to protect the environment and animals from our plastic pollution. So, I'm going to keep campaigning until plastic straws are out of Cairns, out of Queensland, out of Australia and maybe even one day out of the world.

Kids take over the news

Reporter: Matt Holbrook

INTRO: Awesome work, now Molly wasn't the only one telling her story last week. To celebrate BTN's 50th anniversary something pretty special happened on ABC's 7pm news. Kids all around the country picked up a microphone to tell their state about issues that mattered to them. They did an amazing job. Check it out.

SOFIA: Hi, I'm Sofia and I'm in year seven at Churchlands Senior High School. Like a lot of girls my age, I like to be active and comfortable at school. That's why I wear shorts. But I wasn't always allowed to. Last year I wrote to the Education Minister Sue Ellery. It struck a chord and she changed the policy. The change sparked similar moves across the country.

CHELSEA: I'm from Logan and I represent hope. I feel frustrated disheartened, even angry that people talk negatively about my community. That's what motivates me.

CHELSEA: My question to you is what is your experience in this community?

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THIHA TUN SOE: My experience has been great so far because of what the community is providing for young people. They are supporting each other, it's a great change.

CHELSEA: I love to share my culture through dance recently being a part of the opening ceremony for the Commonwealth Games.

ELIZA: At Fadden Primary we are passionate about wiping out waste. We formed a year six team to motivate the school community to recycle. There are now three types of bins at our school: General waste, paper, and mixed recycling. Our team checks all the bins twice a week to make sure our waste is going to the right place. Just remember the three R's: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

THOMAS: Hi, I'm Thomas Riggall. I'm 12 years old and I'm a Year Seven at East Adelaide School. I know South Australians recently voted in a new government, and the Premier has promised to move Year Seven into high school. After hearing from my fellow students, I've decided to visit Parliament House to find out more.

THOMAS: Why do you want to move Year 7 into high school?

STEVEN MARSHALL, SA PREMIER: There's some really good advantages for that, smaller class sizes, specialist teachers, and quite frankly it's what happens in every other state of Australia.

JESSICA: I'm Jessica Bartley and this is the family dog Cobber. And this is my school, Huonville Primary. I'm in Grade 6 and on the student executive.

JESSICA: What do you want students to get out of coming here?

MR DOYLE: The most important thing this school can offer our students is building their aspirations.

ASHLEY: Today we got to explore the Territory Wildlife Park, for a lesson about reptiles. It's part of the Junior Ranger program, to help us discover more about nature. I like being a wildlife ranger 'cause I get to see animals and look at trees.

SAGE: Hi I'm Sage Goldsbury I'm 14 and I'm one of the 16 kids participating in the Saltwater Institute on the surf coast. There are eight girls and eight boys, and we surf for 3 hours in the morning and then go back to school for 4 hours. There are fewer female surfers competing at an elite level in Australia but programs like the Saltwater Institute are helping more girls get into surfing early on.

PHOENIX: My name is Phoenix. This is my dance class. It's not your everyday dance lesson, it's called Aboriginal Contemporary. Each dance has a story and tells us about the Dreamtime.

KID: I like Aboriginal Contemporary because you feel very close to your culture.

PHOENIX: I love dancing on stage in front of people.

It's a story from our past and we know it now, so we can tell it in the future.

Closer

How good were they? All of those stories are up in full on our website, so you can check them out whenever you like. Now I just want to say thank you again for all of the lovely 50th birthday wishes

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we've been getting from kids all around Australia. We've got some awesome cards and we've had so many great videos sent in. I'll leave you now with a few of them. See ya!

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