Wake-Up Wednesday Wins! (Round III)
Hello faithful readers and welcome to another round of Wake-Up Wednesday Wins! This weeks wins feature albatross police, more small-but-mighty Maine businesses, artists, and more. All of the stories you’ll read here connect to our ocean in some way or another. Grab your cozy things, take a seat (or a stretch, if this is your mid-day respite) and wake UP!
Ocean Sentinels
Something I learned while on Midway Atoll is that albatross, as a general rule, can move. A combination of massive wingspans ranging from 7-11 feet (2-3 meters – yes, you read that right) and hollow, locking bones allow them to glide just above the ocean surface for days at a time. Now, researchers at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Chizé, France are tapping into that flight time in order to…track illegal fishing vessels? It’s true!
“But even the stealthiest vessels — the ones that turn off their transponders — aren’t completely invisible: Albatrosses, outfitted with radar detectors, can spot them, new research has shown. And a lot of ships may be trying to disappear. Roughly a third of vessels in the Southern Indian Ocean were not broadcasting their whereabouts, the bird patrol revealed.”
Katherine Kornei, NYTimes
Albatross: they really are sentinels of the sea. Saving the oceans, one illegal fishing vessel at a time. No big deal. Tip: regardless of how many albatross are out there, catchin’ the bad guys, it’s still probably a good idea to limit your consumption of fish. Hard truths peeps, hard truths…
Faring Well With Zero-Waste
There is a chain of natural-food grocery stores in BC known as Nature’s Fare Markets, and they’re working on some serious zero-waste goals. In Kelowna, they’re piloting a a zero-waste bulk section where customers can either choose to bring their own containers, or purchase a reusable container, then fill up.
The idea of #BYOC isn’t new here – we already have Bulk Barn and a fun zero-waste grocery store but it has historically been tricky to #BYOC to regular grocery stores that don’t often have weighing scales for customer use. Tip: if your grocery store lets you #BYOC, get yourself there post-haste and fill up! This is a big deal!
Oh, and Nature’s Fare is also phasing out plastic shopping bags beginning this month (February 2020). “Another one bites the dust,” said all oceans everywhere (if the ocean could talk, that is…).
Scrap It. Make It. Heat It. Makes Us…
Warmer. Cozier. Comfier. Happier. Textile waste is a real problem in our modern-day culture of fast-fashion and polyester everything. So when small businesses take it into their own hands to reduce their impact, it’s cause for celebration!
Katrina at Amphitrite Studio (based in my former home town of Newcastle, Maine) crafts beautiful clothing and home-goods from already-sustainable threads…and then turns the scrap fabric into even more amazing things! Exhibit A: unbelievably cozy-looking relaxation pillows, made from leftover fabric scraps and reclaimed sherpa wool (and a sprinkling of home-grown lavender). Does it get any better? Oh yes, yes it does. From the maker herself:
“I have varying levels of scrap piles. Larger ones go to a woman that makes kids clothes; tiny scraps go to another friend who makes soap and uses them for her shipping padding. 🙌🏼😁 Nothing goes to waste!”
Katrina Kelley, Amphitrite Studio
If you need me, I’ll be swooning into a pile of ultra-soft fabric scraps. Waste not, want not. Tip: shop local! These people are *actually* saving the ocean!
Make Art, Not Trash.
I’ve been asking you for success stories and this week, I had my first contribution! My friend Sharon, fellow yogi, former yoga teacher-training classmate, and forever friend, sent me a story about a Maine artist who has chosen trash as her medium. But it’s not what you think. Rather than make art out of trash, Mariah makes art ON trash. That’s right: check out her gallery and prepare to be amazed. I hate trash and wish it wouldn’t keep washing up on our shorelines, but as it pukes itself up from our oceans, we may as well turn it into something beautiful.
Tip: seek out artists in your community – there is a burgeoning network of makers and crafters and painters turning our rubbish into something beautiful.
Sew what if we ban plastic bags?
One Okanagan educator in Vernon, BC, is tapping into the power of youth to fight plastic bag pollution. How? She has amassed a group of student volunteers to sew 2,000 cloth produce bags by Earth Day 2020. But it’s not just about making bags…these will replace the plastic produce bags at one major grocery store for one day!
Why is she doing this? Because plastic bags kill ocean life. I’m not crying, you’re crying. Recently, this educator posted to a local Zero Waste Facebook group, seeking help in achieving her goal, and it has been so heartwarming to watch people come out of the Internet woodwork to lend their hands and sewing talents. One business even offered to donate several of her own handmade bags. This project is sewwww in the bag!
Tip: join the movement! DIY bags are the new thing, didn’t you know?
