Ella and I are serious about completing our application for our Ocean Heroes project with a goal to design a local and positive solution to the way plastic water bottles are sold and used in our schools and in our community. We got together in early December to brainstorm, decide on research and tasks and to answer some of the important questions in the application.
Once the holidays are over we will get together and complete the application by the deadline. When you have to do a big project the only way to get it done on time is to start early and break it down into small steps.
It’s the same with getting rid of single use plastic – you do a small thing again and again. That’s the way to create a bigger “SNOWBALL OF SOLUTIONS.” (You can see the most recent video Ella and I created here)
Five hundred billion plastic bottles are used around the globe annually. It is not an easy problem to work on – but we know that each of us can make a difference.
Some information about Ocean Heroes and the 2019-2020 theme:
More than 300 international youth activists, ages 11 to 18, from more than 20 countries and 32 U.S. states are collaborating worldwide to fight plastic pollution through the second annual Ocean Heroes Bootcamp, which took place June 28-30 at the University of British Columbia and Ocean Wise in Vancouver, British Columbia. I was one of the youngest kids that attended. There were hundreds of high school students.
From their website: Co-founded by Captain Planet Foundation, Lonely Whale and Point Break Foundation, Ocean Heroes Bootcamp empowers existing and emerging youth leaders to create campaigns that measurably reduce plastic pollution in their communities around the world.
The 2019 bootcamp, which came after the Lonely Whale and Point Break Foundation’s “Question How You Hydrate” campaign, targeted single-use plastic water bottles and share solutions to hydrating without plastic. Five hundred billion plastic bottles are used around the globe annually. Ocean Heroes Bootcamp gave us some critical campaigning skills and empowered us with the knowledge and network needed to drive a global movement for clean seas.
“After nearly three decades of working with young environmental changemakers, we can honestly say that the way THIS generation of young people is stepping up to solve the twin crises of climate change and deteriorating ocean health is unprecedented,” said Leesa Carter-Jones, president and CEO of Captain Planet Foundation, in a statement. “Single-use plastics contribute significantly to both these crises, and companies who are in the business of producing and/or distributing single-use plastic items are being put on notice—these young people plan to affect change quickly and for the long term.”
