Carnaby Street has always been one of those colourful London locations that you first remember seeing: my first time there was with my friend Sara, who took me to see their outrageous tropical Christmas lights.
Little did I know, a few years later I’d find myself standing there again, this time under a giant planet with a whole host of activists and celebrity ambassadors, highlighting the importance of our oceans!
Meet Project 0
Project 0 is a new ocean conversation organisation, who I was introduced to through my Year of Green Action Ambassadorship.
I was particularly taken with Project 0’s approach to getting people to care about the ocean: instead of another marine life campaign, they’re inviting musicians, artists, and public figures to get involved with a whole host of activities.
Their goal is to raise awareness of the urgent need to protect the ocean, with the ultimate mission of having 30% of the planet’s oceans put under protection by 2030.
Celebrating World Oceans Day
For World Oceans Day (this weekend, Saturday 8th June 2019), Project 0 has teamed up with Carnaby Street to put on live music, talks, ocean-themed artwork and installations, and appearances from Project 0’s ambassadors (like Pixie Geldof, Will Poulter, and Mary Charteris).
If you’re London-based, head on over between 12-6pm for live music, free ice lollies, and more!
Top Tips for Protecting Our Oceans
As well as supporting Project 0’s campaign to protect our oceans, there’s plenty of ways we can stop harming our oceans and marine life. A few tips from the Project 0 team:
Avoid single-use plastics
I think this is just good advice generally. Single-use plastics like water bottles shed microplastics into our own bodies, and if you don’t dispose of them properly, can end up in our waterways and the ocean. Plus: every piece of plastic you have ever used is still on the planet, and will be here long after you’re gone.
Here’s my guide to going plastic free, and my recent post on plastic-free bathroom swaps to get you started.
Choose seafood wisely
If you eat fish (like I do), it’s worth researching which are the most sustainable to eat. Fish to avoid according to Project 0:
- Shark (and shark fin soup)
- Sea bass (aka the Patagonian Toothfish, a vital part of Antarctica’s ecosystem)
- Shrimp and prawns (many other fish get caught and killed alongside shrimp and prawn)
To read up on more sustainable choices, have a read of the Good Fish Guide (Europe), Seafood Watch (US), or Sustainable Seafood Guide (Australia).
Watch what you flush
Everything that gets flushed down our loos, plugholes, and drains, leads to the same place. In London, we’ve already had plenty of problems with fatbergs (ew) – huge blockages made from wet wipes and oil.
For our waterways, please make sure you don’t wash these down the drain:
- Nitrogen-rich plant fertilisers (we use Seaweed Fertiliser instead)
- Kitty litter
- Aquarium fish (anyone who does this is a monster anyway)
Reduce your carbon footprint
Our carbon emissions are heating up the planet, and that means the oceans too. In fact, the ocean is the world’s biggest carbon sink. Carbon emissions are causing our oceans to acidify, bleaching coral reefs, raising the temperature of the water, and harming wildlife and human life alike.
Calculate how many carbon emissions you make in my guide to tracking carbon emissions and offsetting them, and see how you compare to the UK average of 11,000 kg per person!
Photo credit: David Parry/PA Wire
