“A Minha Praia” is a project of environmental monitoring and awareness raising for the conservation of the marine environment, where through actions of environmental civism, the concept of “citizen science” is promoted. The aim of this project is to create a network for monitoring marine litter along the Algarve coast, in which the school audience and the youngsters living in the Algarve have a fundamental role. Schools in the region adopt beaches where they carry out periodic actions to raise awareness of the problem of marine waste, its origin and reach, as well as its monitoring and cleaning. The collected waste is sorted and classified according to standardized methods (OSPAR methodology). Subsequently, this information integrates national and international monitoring databases. Finally, the plastic garbage that is collected on the beaches is transformed and recycled in recycling stations installed in the Ciência Viva Centres, producing new objects that the students can use. In short, making society aware of the preservation of the Ocean and of sustainable consumption habits is the goal to be achieved with “A Minha Praia”.
