Hello Everyone!
I am excited to announce the start of our 3rd year of “Be the Sea Change!”
Be the Sea Change is an education and awareness campaign aimed at teaching our young children about the effect of single-use plastics in the ocean and how they can make a local “Change”
Our ocean plastic problem is massive: effecting the aquatic food chain from shrimp to your tuna tartar. Plastic does not go away, rather breaks down into mirco-plastic that fish mistake as food and consume. About 8 million pounds of single-use plastic enters the ocean each year, with the highest concentration being water bottles, plastic straws and food containers.
The awareness as already started as many restaurants and towns are moving toward a “straw free” policy, and here is how you can help!
Much like the recycling movement in the 80-90’s, our Children can lead the way!
“Be the Sea Change” mission statement is to educate 1 million children about the ocean’s plastic problem and how they can make difference in single-use plastic habits in their community.
How: Your donation directly impacts the amount children that we can reach and turn into “Change Agents” in their community. We have built an interactive curriculum that incorporates live presentation materials and hands on learning activities that reinforce the programs message.
The more we raise, the more Be the Sea Change presentations we can execute throughout the year! Better yet, my company Edrington America's will double match every dollar raised!
Background: Inspired after reading Joel Harpers “Sea Change” and actively teaching my daughter about the ocean’s plastic problem, I realized that young children could be part of the solution to reduce single-use plastic. In 2015, I brought the concept of actively teaching children about the ocean plastic pollution to one of the nation’s leading 501c3 organization’s focused on eliminating ocean pollution, Clean Ocean Action, located in New Jersey. Together, we built the first pilot program that incorporated a comprehensive lesson plan, interactive storytelling and hands on learning to educate young children.
Bringing the message to life:
In year 1, the campaign focused on teaching in schools classrooms, reaching over 1500 students
In year 2, we doubled our effort with school classrooms, assemblies, and summer camps which reached over 3000 young children!
The Results: Overwhelming! Children immediately understand the problem and have taken action to become “straw free” zones in the schools and communities. Students have written letters to their local officials and have influenced actual ordinances that reduce plastic straw use!
Next Steps: For year 3, we will double our efforts again and aim for 6000 students reached!
Journey to 1 Million: We have learned that the “Magic” happens when the children are taught the message in a fun and interactive way. However, we realize that we are limited by the physical team and their time to execute.
That is why for year 3, we will amplify the message and launch the “Be the Sea Change” Website with downloadable tools to allow infinite reach across the globe! The website will have a full suite of teaching tools that will guide visitors on how they can use the lesson plan and tools to teach their community and create local change.
Please join us in again for year 3 as we push faster toward the 1 million mark and bring “Be the Sea Change” to the masses!
Thank you
Tom
