What’s in Our Soil? A Three-Year Microplastics Study Launches
by Andrew Kleiner, the Academy of Natural Sciences, Director of Community Science
Microplastics are small fragments and fibers shed from everyday plastic products. Microplastics are present in our oceans, rivers, and waterways, but we know less about their presence in terrestrial ecosystems and how they move through our neighborhoods into local creeks and rivers.
Our new, three-year project will close that gap in the Greater Philadelphia region by combining hands-on community science with a novel coalition built for education and action.
Led by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, SeaGrant, NOAA, and community-based partners, in six local watersheds: Poquessing, Pennypack, Tookany/Tacony-Frankford, Wissahickon, for which Friends of the Wissahickon is a representative, Schuylkill, and Darby-Cobbs. Together, these watersheds span Philadelphia County, Delaware County, and Bucks County. This area is significant for its coastal zone importance and because many neighborhoods here are underserved and overburdened by environmental harms.
A central goal of our marine debris project is to form the Philadelphia Marine Debris Action Coalition (PMAC): a network of local organizations and residents working across watersheds to build a shared strategy for research, education, and solutions to macro and microplastic debris.
This is not a “scientists only” effort. The project begins with coalition meetings designed to co-create the action plan with community members, incorporate existing local efforts, and develop opportunities for communication and collaboration.
You can be a part of this project by joining the Academy and FOW at our upcoming public meeting on February 24 from 6 – 7 PM at the Lovett Memorial Library. Register here.
The coalition will host one kickoff public education session in each watershed—six meetings total—to share what we know about microplastics and to listen: Where are the suspected hotspots? What sources worry residents most? What actions feel doable and meaningful locally? From there, volunteer community science teams will help collect samples at randomly selected plots in each watershed and work on cleanup action days.
Researchers and trained volunteers will examine microplastics not only in soil, but also within local trees and even in pests like the invasive Spotted lanternfly, which may be picking up plastics from what it feeds on. Finally, the project returns results to the community through follow-up meetings, using the data to plan targeted interventions like litter pick-ups, tree plantings, and next steps.
Can’t make our meeting? Here are some other ways you can get involved: volunteer on a sampling day, help recruit neighbors, share local knowledge about dumping or overflow areas, and join coalition-led action events. This is a chance to help build the science and the solutions—right where we live.