Wake Up Wednesday Wins – World Ocean’s Day
It’s the Wednesday of World Ocean’s Day & Week! It’s a big freakin’ deal!
World Ocean’s Day: June 8. Similar to Earth Day, a day to celebrate our watery planet. Also similar to Earth Day, it’s something we should be conscious of every day. I know, there are so many things to be conscious of these days. Pandemics, injustice, how we can all do better, listen harder, and in some cases, just pipe down and let others speak up.
World Ocean’s Day Wonderings
It’s interesting that all of the issues currently plaguing our blue planet sort of inter-relate and come back to one problem: our abuse of systems, of feeling like we – humans – are masters of the universe. When we let our egos and our opinions get in the way, bad things happen. People die or are oppressed, forests are slashed, resources depleted, oceans destroyed. Rather, if we were conscious and contemplative, if we did more active listening and practicing compassion…think of where we’d be.
Of course, we haven’t exactly been the best at doing this so here we are.
(And by the way, I’m using the collective ‘we’ – not trying to point fingers at any one group or any one person. I’m still learning and growing and I imagine you (whoever you are, reading this) are too.)
World Ocean’s Day Wins
So on this World’s Oceans Day/Week, after the crazy last couple of months and even crazier last couple of weeks, I think it’s only appropriate to get back to talking about some WINS. We need wins, now more than ever. The world is fraught with difficulty, atrocities, and really bad eggs. But guess what? For every bad egg, I bet there are 11 more beautiful eggs in the dozen, making cool sh*t happen and creating a better world for their communities.
I’m focusing on those good eggs today: three of them. Happy World Ocean’s Day friends, and give thanks to a piece of water (and the humans protecting it) the next time you see it.
The stories:
- Entrepreneurial Hearts Coming Together to Benefit the Community
- Youth Activists Making Waves of Change to Protect Our Blue Planet
- Mahahual Memories
When Hearts Come Together, Community Benefits
There is a reason we love supporting small, local businesses – actually, there are lots of reasons. The dollars you spend stay right in the community, you’re actively participating in bettering someone’s life and helping put food on their table by engaging with their business, and it somehow feels more satisfying to purchase from an independent, small business than somewhere like Wal*Mart. Oh and there’s the added benefit that many small-businesses these days are also helping to push forward important planetary agendas (tackling waste, injustice, etc etc). Plus, the feelings! Oh, the feelings. So many feels. 🙂
You’ve previously heard me gush over an amazing soon-to-be zero-waste refillery coming to Kelowna and yep, it’s time for more gushing! Allisha at Chickpeace recently posted a very heart-warming (pun intended but it’s also totally true) story of a collaboration she was proud to showcase between her shop and a local apparel retailer that specializes in making beautiful things out of denim. Side note, how is this for cool? When the pandemic hit, they shifted to making one-of-a-kind denim face masks!
You can read more about the Chickpeace x Grey Hearts Denim collaboration below, and please go check them out on the ‘gram to see what they’re up to. What’s not to love about this?
World Ocean’s Day + Youth Activism
Monday was officially World Ocean’s Day and in honour of the occasion, the United Nations teamed up with Oceanic Global to deliver a full day of live-streamed presentations from ocean science researchers, activists, entrepreneurs, and more. Some notable speakers were people you may have heard of: Sylvia Earle, Bill McKibben, and Jean Michel Cousteau, among others. Tom Szaky of Terracycle joined in the fray, as did Ellie Goulding!
There were other speakers though, that you might not have heard of before. They represented the portion of the live stream dedicated to youth activism. Two in particular made me want to cry and hug something*. Lilly Platt of Lilly’s Plastic Pickup, and Callie Veelenturf of the Leatherback Project and the Rights For Nature Movement.
*(Cry with tears of joy that there are teens and young adults so passionate about saving our blue planet. Hugs because after hearing them speak, I just wanted to hug them!)
The Wave-Makers
Lilly is from the Netherlands and during her presentation, recounted the first time she experienced plastic pollution in the environment, while on a walk through a park with her grandfather. She was shocked at how much rubbish she saw and so, she decided to start picking it up. And that’s what she does. She picks up litter, sorts it, disposes of it properly, and then tells people about it. Her mission is simple: show people the problem and give them a way to deal with it (as in…pick it up!).
“The ocean isn’t just water: it’s a living thing, so treat it that way.”
Lilly Platt, Lilly’s Plastic Pickup
Lilly has a way with words and is both direct in her speaking and also curious, with a drive to keep her environment litter-free. Did I mention she’s 12? Yah. I can’t remember what I was doing when I was 12 but it probably didn’t involve engaging with a global community around plastic pollution.
Callie is from the East Coast of the States. She’s a marine conservation biologist and a Nat Geo explorer and her passion? Sea turtles, and effecting positive change for our oceans at the policy level. She has the perfect recipe for success: vision + passion + determination.
“Don’t wait to be invited to the table. Take a seat”
Callie Veelenturf, LeatherBack Project / Rights For Nature Movement
It is her belief that in order to make change happen and stick, we cannot be passive bystanders to what is going on around us and must instead take decisive action, something she seems to be doing quite well. She founded two organizations (The Leatherback Project and the Rights for Nature Movement), has spoken at a variety of events around the world, and is through it all so kind and, well, sweet!
It was such a joy and a surprise to hear both of them speak at this event and I’m so happy our paths crossed…virtually! Hats off, Lilly and Callie!
Mahahual Memories – One Year Later
One year ago, Jan and I were venturing south of the border to the small, coastal village of Mahahual, located on the far southern most point of the Yucatan Peninsula. We were there to gather stories, film, and participate in the Festival Libre de plástico 2019, hosted by the beautiful humans behind Menos Plastico es Fantastico.
(I wrote about Menos Plastico in a previous Wake-Up Wednesday Wins, but have not yet fully divulged all the incredible stories we bore witness to while we were there – they are coming!)
Before humans figured out that coastal villages made great cruise ship ports, Mahahual was a sleepy, sandy fishing village and remnants of it can still be seen when driving along the mangrove-lined roads that run along the beach. Now, it is a destination for disembarking cruisers during much of the year. While we were there, we happened to witness the largest cruise ship in the world coming into port. Not going to get into that here, but wow. Just…wow.
What I love about this Mahahual memory though, is not the human impact on the oceans or beaches surrounding their beautiful little village (there is plenty of that, a story for another day) but the people I’m reminded of. We met some truly first-class, compassionate individuals who welcomed us with open arms. I’d like to give a quick overview of this group and a bit about who they are. More to come about each of them, in time!
The Mahahual Dream Team
Ana and Evan, husband and wife team behind Menos Plastico Es Fantastico (Less Plastic Is Fantastic) and owners of the Nacional Beach Club. Parents to two curious, and independent beautiful daughters Emma and Ella who are old souls for such young people. We quickly became friends. 🙂
Isabel, Menos Plastico ringleader, business owner, instant friend, and helper of all the things. This woman juggled so many different tasks throughout the week we were there! She was eager to be involved, helped in every possible way, was a blast to hang out with.
Amanda, our guide for not getting lost, maker of beautiful, reusable bags, and beautiful human who helped connect us within the community. She is one of those people who gives off warm vibes from 10 feet away.
Marcia, owner of the Mayan Beach Garden Inn, a beautiful accomodation-based business and host to the first Festival event: a screening of Albatross (the film that Jan traveled to Midway several times to help create). Her business was taking a hit last year, due to the overwhelming Sargassum overgrowth in the coastal waters surrounding Mahahual. She is a gifted muralist who not only can work magic with tiles, but also creates unbelieveable artwork out of “chanclas” or rubber flip-flops she finds on beaches.
Roberto, Xico, Santiago, Richard, Manuel, and Raquel. Roberto is a sea turtle researcher at Ecosur – El Colegio de la Frontera Sur who, while we were surveying a remote beach for plastic samples one day, showed us a spot nearby where sea turtles built their nest. Unreal! Xico, Santiago, and Richard are all artists who contributed beautiful works to the art exhibitions on display during the Festival. Manuel is the reason we were in Mexico – he is a passionate activist, speaker, and entrepreneur who Jan connected with on one of his early trips to Midway. Raquel is his wife and a gifted dancer who contributed her moving art during the Festival.
And of course, the incredible staff at the Nacional Beach Club – they kept us fed, watered, shared stories, and tolerated our terrible Spanish (when I say ‘our’ I am specifically referring to Jan and myself. We tried, but it must have been quite hilarious to witness).
World Ocean’s Day Reminders – Grateful!
On this World Ocean’s Week, it was so wonderful to be reminded of this slew of incredible humans who are working so hard in some pretty adverse conditions. Rural, coastal Mexico is not an easy place to make change but this group is doing it anyway, demonstrating that where there is a will, there truly is a way. The proof of that is in Menos Plasticos’ latest project: a sea turtle camp in Mahahual to support research and protection of the sea turtles that nest on the beaches in their area. Now that is a wave of change.
World Ocean’s Day Conclusions
So there you have it, folks! Three long-winded tales of sustainability success: entrepreneurs working together a small, coastal community banding together to clean up the plastic from their environment; and two young people following their hearts and saving our blue planet.
I don’t know about you, but I’m inspired just sitting here. Think I’ll go find a patch of water to hug (since we still can’t hug our friends yet, apparently).
Happy World Ocean’s Day/Week/Year everyday, friends! And as always, if you have an inspiring story of someone you know doing something awesome in the realm of sustainability, I would love to hear about it. 🙂
