The Nobodyz Trash – Indigenous Marine Debris Network was initiated by managers of Gumma IPA, a protected area under the Australian Government’s Indigenous Protected Areas Program in partnership with Conservation Biology Institute, Dolphin Research Australia, National Marine Science Centre at Southern Cross, Bag-a-surf Japan, Ghost Net Australia, and the Kootenai 
Tribe of Idaho. This project seeks to promote initiative and self-expression within Indigenous communities to address issues related to marine debris pollution.
Working with key international and domestic partners, the Nobodyz Trash team will identify challenges within Indigenous coastal communities and develop solutions that improve their livelihoods and future conditions.
The outcomes of this work will include:
- Engaging an international exchange of ideas through focused workshops, both in Australia (i.e. the World Indigenous Network in 2013) and the United States, establishing a framework for addressing marine plastic pollution and management in partnership with Indigneous coastal communities
- Developing an online spatial data and information sharing workspace on the web-platform Data Basin, so that community members can reference their own materials as well as others in the network
- Building a range of social, economic, and cultural solutions with Indigneous coastal communities to encourage meaningful and actionable ways to address marine plastic pollution
Plastic marine pollution is a worldwide challenge that threatens the health of organisms and the humans that rely on these coastal marine resources. There is a body of literature that documents the impacts of these debris including: 1) entaglement in; 2) ingestion of; 3) transportation of invasive species via rafts and; 4) the introduction of harmful chemicals into the ecoystem. These impacts pose great challenges to the health of coastal ecosystems. By working with local communities who face these challenges everyday, the Nobodyz Trash team hopes to find innovative solutions to this ever growing issue.The Nobodyz Trash team is working hard to make a difference and you can help by making a financial contribution. Your Donation will support the ongoing work of this international team to engage in workshops, design customizable plastic debris management plans, develop a centralized data and information gateway, and find innovative ways to support Indigenous coastal communities to find effective ways to secure a healthy marine environment and more sustainable future.
