By Kevin Majoros
Registration opens this month for the 2nd annual Ocean Heroes Bootcamp in Vancouver, British Columbia to be held from June 28-30, 2019.
Ocean Heroes Bootcamp empowers existing and emerging youth leaders to create their own campaigns to take action against ocean plastic pollution. The campaigns created by Ocean Heroes support the achievement UN SDG 14.1 by 2025 and strengthens the Clean Seas campaign goal to turn the tide on plastic.
The Bootcamp was conceived by Captain Planet Foundation and Lonely Whale with the goal of empowering the next generation of ocean health leaders and is supported by founding partner, Point Break Foundation.
Last year’s inaugural bootcamp in New Orleans drew 200 participants from four countries, ranging in age from 10 to 18 years old.
Multiple new strategic partners have come on board to strengthen the impact of this year’s event including Battery Powered, Ocean Wise and The Ocean Project.
Ocean Heroes Bootcamp’s Six Pillars of Programming
Participation in the bootcamp is promoted through the strategic partners and attendees experience two-and-a-half days of immersion into developing, building, pitching and crafting a campaign.
Their six pillars of programming include science education, global plastics policy, critical campaigning, artivism, media literacy and idea incubation.
The participants are led by youth squad leaders, many of whom already run their own environmental nonprofits. The three founding organizations, Captain Planet, Lonely Whale and Point Break produce the Bootcamp along with the yearlong Campaign Mentorship Program.
“These kids are already activated before they arrive at bootcamp and we are giving them the tools to further their passions,” says Leesa Carter, President and CEO of Captain Planet Foundation. “The dynamic of their collaboration together is critical and essential. Watching it happen is really special.”
New This Year at Ocean Heroes Bootcamp
The youth capacity for this year’s Bootcamp is 350 and attendees will experience expanded programming.
Battery Powered has the stepped forward with $150,000 for funding of youth campaigns and $150,000 for youth scholarships to attend the event.
Mentors have been added for the campaigns and squad leaders will receive pre-training.
Ocean Wise and The Ocean Project have collaborated to create a virtual bootcamp in advance of the onsite bootcamp. It will be an asynchronous learning platform in 20 to 25 locations including Australia, Kenya, Taiwan and the Philippines. One-to-two people from each virtual bootcamp will receive scholarships to travel to Vancouver.
“It’s important to recognize the energy of this generation,” Carter says. “Institutions and politicians have no idea what is coming for them. These youth are engaged and capable of getting their own campaign funding.”
2018 Bootcamp Champions are Making an Impact
Since the 2018 Ocean Heroes Bootcamp, Chloe Mei Espinosa (age 12) has successfully convinced two California school districts, with a total of 66 schools, to stop using plastic straws and offer only biodegradable alternatives.
Chloe Mei has also started a lecture series where she presents to children attending camps at the Pacific Marina Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, CA. To date, she has spoken to more than 200 kids about the harmful effects of single-use plastics. Additionally, she has presented to the Hoag Memorial Hospital Board, petitioning them to limit or stop using single-use plastic straws in all of their hospitals and centers in Southern California.
After attending the 2018 Ocean Heroes Bootcamp, Coda Christopherson (age 10) established Strawless School, an initiative to stop the use and disposal of plastic straws at schools by educating students about their impact and providing eco-friendly alternatives.
Coda successfully campaigned to get plastic straws pulled from Manhattan Beach Unified School District in California and enlisted 800 people to take the Strawless School Pledge and stop using single-use plastic straws.
Robbie Bond (age 10) is the founder of the nonprofit, Kids Speak for Parks, which is dedicated to educating kids about the importance of the national parks and monuments. After last year’s bootcamp, he partnered with Klean Kanteen and Litterati to extend his campaign to eliminate single-use plastics in national parks and marine protected areas.
Robbie worked with Patagonia in the Midterm Matters Campaign to make sure everyone voted for politicians that support the environment and visited with Bipartisan Congressional Offices to advocate for Every Kids Outdoor Act. Recently, he met with the Washoe County School District Board in Nevada about banning single-use plastic in his school district.
The Success of the Ocean Heroes Bootcamp
Along with the yearlong Campaign Mentorship Program, there is an Ocean Heroes Toolkit housed on the website to assist youth in their campaigns.
Carter shares what it was like to watch the youth working together to pursue their passions.
“A big takeaway for me was their willingness to get together and share ideas. It was really stunning and it’s a great example of what we hoped would happen. This space was created for action and the outcome for the whole is more important than the outcome for one.”
Ocean Heroes Bootcamp online.
Check out the Ocean Heroes Toolkit here.
2018 Bootcamp Champions profiles.
Ocean Heroes Bootcamp on Instagram.
Kevin Majoros shares stories on sports, ocean adventuring and conservation. He is based in Baltimore/Washington and travels the world as a competitive swimmer.