To open and close this bar, use alt+/

Fourth Great Nurdle Hunt Collects Nearly 24,000 Nurdles

The activity attracted over 250 volunteers from the University and the broader community

Press Release

NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Community Outreach organized its fourth Great Nurdle Hunt, which attracted over 250 volunteers in a unique variation of a beach clean-up at the Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort.

Organized as part of The Great Nurdle Hunt worldwide initiative, the event seeks to promote awareness of more environmentally conscious behaviors and foster greater environmental stewardship.

Volunteers collected thousands of nurdles, which are tiny plastic pellets used in the manufacturing of plastic products, that end up in the ocean due to spills and mishandling during transport, causing harm to marine life.

“These life-giving oceans are in deep trouble due to marine pollution such as plastic, and we can no longer ignore the harmful effects our behaviors are having. The NYUAD Nurdle Hunt events are our way of catalyzing community action to protect our planet.”

Associate Director of Community Outreach at NYUAD Suparna Mathur

Volunteers spent the morning collecting nurdles at the Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort beach. They also attended an informative briefing, by NYUAD’s Community Outreach, along with the resort’s Marine and Environment Manager Emily Armstrong, where they were encouraged to start their own nurdle hunts and reduce their plastic consumption, especially single-use plastics.

Speaking after the event, Armstrong said, “we are delighted to be working with NYUAD and be a part of its community outreach program. Having seen the impact that nurdles can have on the marine wildlife on Saadiyat Island first hand, it is important to collect these nurdles and make the community aware of these issues. The fact that we managed to collect nearly 24,000 nurdles today shows that when communities come together, they can really make an impact. It is great to know that everyone here is empowered and will hopefully leave here with a sense of achievement and responsibility for the environment around us.”

The informative briefing at NYUAD Nurdle Hunt

About NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective undergraduate curriculum across the disciplines with a world center for advanced research and scholarship. The university enables its students in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from over 115 countries and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.

Related Stories