Helensvale State High School has battled climate anxiety amongst its students by taking on a bandicoot as its eco-mascot.
The bandicoot, nicknamed Bruce, was found in 2018 being strangled by a Slurpee lid.
Seeing the effects of plastic pollution up close and personal helps mitigate students’ climate fatigue, said UQ PhD candidate Carla Magi-Prowse, who is researching the effect of eco-anxiety on pro-environmental behaviour.
She said the issue is highly prevalent amongst the younger generation, who suffer emotional burnout from being bombarded with so many confronting and existential stories about their future.