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The Maui's Dolphin Challenge: Lessons From a School-Based Litter Reduction Project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2016

Carly S. Townrow ,
Nick Laurence ,
Charlotte Blythe ,
Jenny Long  and
Niki Harré
Carly S. Townrow
Affiliation:
The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Nick Laurence
Affiliation:
The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Charlotte Blythe
Affiliation:
The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Jenny Long
Affiliation:
The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Niki Harré*
Affiliation:
The University of Auckland, New Zealand
*
Address for correspondence: Niki Harré, School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The Maui's Dolphin Challenge was a litter reduction project that was run twice at a secondary school in Aotearoa New Zealand. The project drew on a theoretical framework encompassing four psycho-social principles: values, embodied learning, efficacy, and perceived social norms. It challenged students to reduce the litter at the school by offering to donate $200 a week for 3 weeks to help protect the endangered Maui's dolphin. However, for every piece of litter found, $1 would come off this total. The challenge was accompanied by feedback on progress, posters, assemblies, and videos. Both times it was run, litter dropped by approximately half. After the first iteration, a survey found that students (n = 275 surveys) appeared motivated not to litter primarily due to a desire to care for the Maui's dolphin. Interviews and a focus group with staff and students (n = 14) after the second iteration also found the dolphins were important, but there was a cultural norm against picking up litter. The limitations of the project, its impact on the school's sustainability culture, and implications for other whole-school environmental projects, especially those with a waste focus, are discussed.

Keywords

environmental educationcase studyyouthschoollittervalues
Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , November 2016 , pp. 288 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

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