Microplastics have become ubiquitous in all reaches of the world. Due to
their small size, low density, and environmental persistence, they are
transported throughout the Earth's system. Despite its importance,
little is known about microplastic transport and deposition, especially
by snow particles, and most people are not aware of the extent of the
problem. The PlastiX-Snow Citizen Science Project aims to fill these
research and informational gaps using crowd-sourcing to achieve
scientific research outputs, educational programming, and active
outreach and engagement. We will initially measure the spatial
distribution of snow deposited microplastics throughout a region in New
York State and expand nationally using community partners. As trained
partners, the Snow Ambassadors will inform the local community about
microplastics, recruit participants, and assist in leading trainings. As
nodes of the project, they will expand the reach to a large demographic
of people across the country, including both life-long learners and
school groups. Citizen scientists will collect, examine, and report the
snow-deposited microplastics in their own backyard. The PlastiX-Snow
team also will collect snowmelt samples from participants to robustly
analyze the microplastics at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. According
to a National Academy of Sciences, a primary concern regarding citizen
science projects is the lack of engagement and feedback to the
participants of the program's findings. We specifically address these
challenges by actively and continually engaging our participants and
partners through direct and virtual public programming, classroom
visits, media, newsletters, and an interactive website. PlastiX-Snow
goals are to 1. Collect data for a deeper understanding of microplastics
disseminated by snow, 2. Teach the public about the dangers of
microplastics and potential solutions, 3. Engage communities, students,
educators, and the public to participate in groundbreaking, relevant
scientific research. We aim to shed light on the severity of
microplastic pollution, build a bridge between the public and the
scientific community, connect citizen scientists to their natural
environment through field work, and encourage them to serve as
environmental stewards and leaders in their own communities.