"What's the project about?" His mom asked.

"All our teacher said was that it had to relate to the natural environment," Cooper explained. "I don't know where to start!"

"Maybe an idea will come to you in your dreams," Cooper's mom teased. "Don't worry, you'll think of something soon."

That night, Cooper drifted off to sleep. Not long after he closed his eyes, he began to dream.

Cooper awoke to find himself not in his bed, but underwater in the ocean. Along with the other sea creatures, Cooper discovered he has turned into a fish!

Confused, Cooper began to swim around, hoping to find another marine animal to talk to.

As Cooper swam through the ocean, he noticed a sea turtle, slowly swimming along.

Swimming closer, Cooper noticed that the turtle was upset. "Excuse me?" asked Cooper. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not feeling too well," said the turtle. "Can you help me find a doctor?"

"Sure!" answered Cooper.

Shortly after, Cooper and the turtle found a hospital located in an old sunken ship. A doctor escorted the turtle into a room for a checkup to see what was wrong.

Minutes later, Dr. O stepped out of the room and swam over to Cooper.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Cooper.

"He'll be fine," the doctor answered. "I must admit, he's a lucky turtle. Plastic ingestion is a serious and life-threatening issue for many sea animals."

"Plastic ingestion? What's that?" asked Cooper.

"Well, plastic ingestion is when you swallow a piece of plastic," Dr. O explained. "Once a sea creature swallows plastic, they can get very sick because their bodies are not used to eating it, and they are not able to digest it properly."

"But why would the turtle eat a piece of plastic?" asked Cooper.

"He must have mistaken it for food when he was out looking for plants and small fish to eat," said Dr. O.

"How does plastic get into the ocean?" asked Cooper. "I thought plastic was supposed to stay on land."

"It's meant to, but often times plastic travels further than land and ends up in the ocean," answered Dr. O. "Plastic comes from many sources, such as fishing boats, factories, or garbage left near the shoreline. Plastic is often carried into the ocean by rivers or other waterways."

"What happens once the plastic is in the ocean?" asked Cooper. "Does it sink to the bottom?"

"Most plastic is light in weight and floats on top of the water," explained Dr. O. "Because plastic is made out of a tough material, it is very hard to get rid of. It usually just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces."

"And then what happens?" asked Cooper.

"Do you know what a gyre is, Cooper?" Dr. O replied.