The health crisis has forced us to brainstorm on new ways to raise awareness about protecting nature while locked in our houses…That’s how the podcast Waterchat was born, somewhere on a kitchen table.
How does nature shapes our lives, our professional choices, our decisions, our careers? How does it inspire us? Through a series of 40 minutes conversations led by our co-founder Séverine, Waterchat proposes to wander through the experiences and feelings of inspiring personalities and to question our connection - reliance - to nature, to our body and to our environment, enriching our vision with these intimate and singular testimonies, presenting a plurality of commitments and actions and listening to those who work hard to protect it.
Waterchat will be available in French on all dedicated platforms starting September 1st, 2021, and soon in English.
Due to lockdown, Watertrek is launching a series of Facebook live conferences to address environmental issues in times of quarantine. Those lives hosted by our Science & Education Expert Emmanuelle are only offered in French for now, but we're hoping to have them in English soon as well.
Our program:
Join us here Watertrek Facebook.
The first representation of the " Cruising in Anthropocene ", the interactive presentation designed by Watertrek to address the questions of plastic pollution and the climatic disorder with children took place in Cannes on June 18th. 2018. 25 children within the School de la Croisette received our co-founder Séverine. 2 Groups focused on 2 missions: the zero-carbon crew and zero-waste crew developed their own solutions to counter the threats.
This first performance was a good opportunity to test and adapt a message suitable for younger kids. New representations are planned from September, 2018.
A huge thanks to teacher Virginie Kvietkauskas, Ladies Vaillant and Brun in the City hall of Cannes and mister Canonne, Education Advisor.
Tidefest was hosting the 7th session of the Plastic Ocean Festival on Sunday, the 10th of September, and once again, the Festival turned into a real success.
Volunteers joined a Paddle & Pick with Partner Active 360 in the morning and helped to remove 647 pieces of litter from the River Thames. The survey results showed that food wrappers came on top once again as the most abundant litter item in the Thames, followed by plastic cups and bottles. The event was honored by the visit from the local MP Ruth Cadbury.
Participants gathered in the Over the Ait Pub to attend the screening of the documentary film A Plastic Ocean, the chairman of the Oxfordshire Federation of Womens Institutes also attending. A real eye opener, the film was followed by a long and engaging Q&A session with the attendees and Kim - marine scientist from Thames Estuary Partnership, Wanda, marine Biologist and coordinator at Watertrek and Séverine, Watertrek cofounder.
This February 2017, a Watertrek crew composed of our London coordinators Mel and Paul undertook an expedition paddling in Burma's mangroves, offering the chance to raise awareness on the protection of mangrove trees and its importance to prevent global warming. The mangrove plants can recycle five time as much carbon as a regular forest. It also plays a role as a natural barrier against floods, tsunamis and helps fix the ground.
This expedition in partnership with Worldview Impact Foundation, Starboard et le Thor Heyendahl Climate Park has given our Director Ka Ki Wong the opportunity to create a short film - The Mangrove Secret - that has been screened during COP 22.
In September 2016, the first stand-up paddle board Source to Sea Relay on the River Thames was held as part of the Totally Thames Festival. The Festival was a celebration of this vital and mighty river and the relay was one of over a hundred events held over the course of a month. The relay had a strong water conversation component and aimed to raise awareness of the epidemic of plastic waste and the significant impact that this has on our waterways and oceans.The relay started at Thameshead - the official source of the River Thames - where a baton of water was collected by French adventurer and Watertrek friend Arnaud Delerive and his wife. It was then relayed down river by different groups travelling by SUP. As the baton changed hands and weaved it's way towards London there was an opportunity for different events to take place along the way, including a mass paddle and marathon, education sessions on water conservation and clean ups. The relay has been a great occasion to get communities involved in protecting the river and join environmental participative science initiatives. Paddlers were eventually asked to make their pledge to the #oneless campaign, sharing a selfie with their favorite refillable bottle.
Legs & events:
Christmas 2015: Watertrek is heading to the The Cambodia Kids Care Center, a children's shelter hosting Cambodian, Malay and Vietnamese kids located on the island of Koh Chang to develop an environmental education program with them. Forty children from 4 to 13 years are being taken care of by Uan. The children live frugally, they always have something to eat as many tourists come to support them in this period. The situation is a little different during the monsoons…The aim is to first teach them some English so we can actually exchange a bit. We set us a list of everything found in the water: bottles, cans, cigarette butts, cotton swabs, bags etc ... Good, not good? dangerous for fish or delicious to eat? children understand everything quickly, the answers are obvious for them.
Second step: let's go collect, count and sort waste on the public beach of Klong Prao. Hardly are the bags out that they come back full of trash. Smiles are big and joy is real. The location is true paradise, with wooden huts, fine sand, turquoise blue water…it is so gorgeous any waste becomes intolerable. The complexity of the subject will reveal itself: lack of management in garbage collection, lack of communal cohesion, inexperience of some local structures. Substantive work needs to be undertaken. The most shocking are those mountains of small plastic bottles that you can see at the entrance of most supermarkets, a disaster waiting to happen, a truly irresponsible behaviour from western industries who are not accountable with recycling in those areas.
Last step: children are offered SUP test sessions, and it is a total success: girls on one side & boys on the other, this joyous world bullheads for hours. The smiles & the laughter say it all.
Isabelle Poitou is a marine biologist and one of the first French scientists to have addressed the issue of marine waste as a real study subject. Along with François Galgani and Laurent Colasse, she wrote "A clean sea, mission impossible? ». She created the association Mer/Terre to help reduce litter at sea. She lives in Marseille where we’ve met, she talks about her passion and her work.
Where did you get this passion for the sea ?
I was born in the suburbs of Paris, but I spent my childhood in the waters of Brittany. My dad was a sailor, I started sailing very young, I constantly bathed and I knew very young that I would devote my career to the marine world, it was an evidence.
How did you get interested in the issue of marine waste? it is a brand new subject.
The sea told me. I was a student in marine biology in Marseille. After my Master, I did some social sciences and urban planning. I was looking for a thesis topic that would be relevant. Beyond the purely animal research I had done before, I felt the need to add a social dimension to my work, to build bridges between human & marine life. Following the advice of one of my teachers, I went for a walk along the beach, hoping to find inspiration. While I was observing floating waste, I started to get some ideas. They looked like they would always pile in the same corners. Was it pollution? Was waste an environmental degradation? was it a threat to biodiversity? did we have datas, quantities, figures? I had found the subject for my thesis, and at the same time a subject that would give a real meaning to my career.
How did your researches evolve ?
The first thing I realized was that we had no data nor statistics on the issue, either qualitative or quantitative. Everything had to be done. At that time, in the late 90s, no institution had worked on the subject of macro-waste yet, there was no laws. The sinking of the Amoco Cadiz had led the French government to create an association - CEDRE - supposed to organize a "fight against accidental pollutions." But there was still no real thinking on public waste management.
François Galgani was the first to think of a proper census and to characterize waste. That helped get the interest of the media & the public.
Things continued to develop under the influence of certain European countries. The OSPAR - Paris-Oslo - convention was the first to propose a protocol in 2006. This initial work led to the « European Marine Strategies" in 2008. This was the beginning of a global thinking.
Working on my researches, I started to get closer to local communities in the hope of collecting figures. I conducted surveys on 37 towns in Provence, Monaco & 2 Italian municipalities. I worked with technical services to get estimates. At that time, I was working in the CEDRE which was hosted at the Ifremer Center in Toulon. I had done some great work on developping a local census protocol. 5 towns would send me daily feedback that I could link to the weather. Those datas have proved extremely powerful! They allowed me to establish a fairly clear reading of waste movements. For the majority of them, they came from watershed & would move towards the sea. From there, the opportunity to act & to propose political solutions appeared. It was also at that time that I decided to create my association Terre/Mer to share this knowledge.
How was your work received ?
Not always very well. I often felt very strong resistance - mostly emotional - from some of my institutional partners. Paradise is associated with the beach - we speak of heavenly beaches, we’re going on holiday to the water. Waste has a negative connotation. St. Augustin had the idea of hell while watching the dump of Jerusalem Gehenna. If we go further in the analysis, the sea represents the unconscious. To go and seek for waste means revealing a dark side society does not necessarily want to see. Although the ultimate goal might be positive, diving in this world is terrifying.
Remember this very strong image used in Surfrider Foundation campaign: it shows a little girl who’s lifting the sea as if it was a bedsheet so she can see what lies underneath. Waste is taboo, dirty, we prefer to ignore it. Hence the strong reactions from people I have addressed in the hope of an overall and collective thinking on the subject. The ocean has an indigestion, it "vomits" waste on beaches. It sends back the waste that we do not want. It is very educational but disturbing.
Do you notice some improvement in the environmental situation? or is it worse than before?
There is a real improvement. 40 years ago, treatment plants did not exist. We have made much progress in the last 40 years. But there's a force that drives us to produce unnecessary things. Because it is creating jobs and generating wealth, we overproduce, we make everything and anything. Full employment justifies all productive drifts, and that leads to deleterious extremes represented by Monsantos. The widespread brutishness encouraged by certain medias and the misuse of their power do not help.
Nature carries a very strong self-regeneration ability in itself. We did not invent recycling, we only borrowed this great renewing skill. Oil for example is derived from the decay of algae. This is a tremendous source of energy that knows how to regenerate. But mankind, using oil, has managed to manufacture plastic, which can’t rot, and can’t regenerate!! From a living, scalable and recyclable matter, we made our own block to the cycle!
I am always surprised that we learn so little from what nature has to inspire & teach us. Humanity is an ecosystem. Why don’t we study it as such? Why not observe the functioning of natural ecosystems and learn from their balance to develop new social models?
What are your new priorities ?
My new task is to ensure that manufacturers inform about the consequences of waste. Just like it is written on cigarette packs that "smoking kills", it would be wise to mention what happens when you throw a cigarette butt in the water. I hope to work more and more with multinational companies, with manufacturers.
It is also important that water policies - which are managed by agencies - and waste policies are integrated and work together.
What is your strongest aquatic memory ?
A truly mystical experience: I was 20 and I was travelling in Senegal. After jogging and meeting with a marabou in the evening, I went to swim alone with a mask. That is when I discovered fluorescent plankton ... I thought I’d gone crazy! There were stars up in the sky, and then stars down in the water! I had no landmarks, I was in the cosmos, it was an incredible experience that has deeply rooted my relationship with the sea. Since then, I try to bath at night with a mask as much as I can!
What does the sea bring you ?
I remember my first dive. It was in the Mediterranean sea, though I had spent my entire childhood swimming in Brittany. I felt like I was in a cradle. No, I've never done any paddling, but I swim a lot. I feel a very strong need to be in the water. It is a source of profound joy, a connection with vastness and beauty. I feel like I’m coming into another dimension, I'm weightless, I feel harmony and confidence. I found myself in very dangerous positions several times, but each time, the water carried me away.
What would you like to say to future generations?
Keep the faith. Have the courage to be aware and responsible. Use your intelligence!
Photo Patrick Gherdoussi
Laurent Lombard has always been a passionate diver. Born in French Var, Laurent grew up in Saint-Maxime and then moved to Cannes. A traveler and an adventurer, Laurent worked as a fisherman until an unexpected event led him to commit very actively in protecting seabeds. An underwater video posted on his Facebook profile in May 2015 brought together more than 3 million viewers! Mr. Buzz tells us about his life, his commitment & the effects of his brand new fame.
Where did you get this love for the sea Laurent?
I was born in Saint-Raphael, I grew up close to the sea. My grandfather was a forester, he passed on his love of nature to me. I started snorkeling at 8. After my military service, I went to the Merchant Marine School and became a fisherman and later a skipper. The sea has always been part of my life. But I was primarily fascinated by adventure and the sea, not necessarily by the environment.
So how did you come to do what you do today: film polluted seabeds?
I've always had the spirit of adventure, I've always wanted to explore the sea, to discover what was in it. After some years as a fisherman, I went to settle for 4 years in an isolated area of the coast of Tunisia, in Douala. I wanted to live experiences. That's where I’ve been the happiest in my life: when I had nothing! I was living with a local fisherman in a hut that we had built. We were using what the sea was bringing on the beach - pieces of wood, planks etc ... to make our shed. It was really a Robinson-Crusoe-like adventure! I started to clean up, just to have something nice in front of my house. My hut mate began to better sell his fish to tourists who were more numerous on the spot. He was no longer obliged to sell - cheaper - to wholesalers. That's how he realized that it was important to live in a healthy environment. I was surrounded by poachers, I gradually turned them into responsible fishermen.
When I returned to France, I wanted to do the same. I wanted to clean up. I approached the mayor and I proposed to create a new occupation: sea mender, but it didn’t work. I got hired by the Lyonnaise des Eaux in the Clean Sea Maritime Boat Service, where I was taking care of picking up floating litter. That only existed on the French Riviera at the time.
What is your most memorable aquatic experience?
I remember a rather painful experience. While I was diving once, a black plastic bag covered and remained stuck to my mask while descending. I found myself totally in the dark, wondering what was happening. On this day, something clicked in my head: we could not leave the seabed invaded by plastic anymore. It was in Tunisia 10 years ago.
I began to dive more regularly once back in France, often with a small waterproof camera, and I began to share my pictures on You.Tube. I wrote an article for the magazine Sea & Coast, and then things led to another: after being mentioned in Nice Matin, the French TV show "Envoyé Special" contacted me to prepare the report "Mediterranean, a sea of plastics ". The aim was to explain the origins of waste and their journey along the rivers. With France 2, we also produced a report called "The Plastic Trap" for the show called "Infrared".
Between the two reports, I had the feeling that things were not going fast enough, I felt misunderstood, so I decided to climb a lighthouse & denounce sea trash. Just after the release of the report shot for Envoyé Spécial in 2011, I hung up there for 6 hours, hoping to alert the authorities. The reality is that I was starting to get tired. I really felt that this was useless, it was a lost cause. I went to Corsica to take a break.
When I denounce marine pollution, I feel like I’m trapped & stuck between two opposing worlds. We need to change our habits so that those two worlds can coexist - modern life & nature. If everyone gets used to putting trash in a can, it will be huge already. I believe that the majority of people do not realize what’s going on. I'm on the field, I really see things. Pollution is even more impressive when you see it on location, in the water. In reality, this is big and disturbing. That's why I'm trying to do everything to touch people, to film in the most realistic manner.
It seems that you have found a new audience since then? some fresh energy?
I returned to Cannes and unintentionally, my reflex as a "sentinel of the sea" came back to me. I dove, I filmed, I made a video just like that. This time, I posted it on Facebook instead of You.Tube. Against all odds, I gathered more than 3 million views! more and more people responded, shared my images, contacted me. I had several publications in the press, as in the Daily Mail and other foreign media.
The Mayor in Cannes reacted positively and came to me to inquire about what was going on. He understood that I had the technical knowledge to work on the issue. I had technical solutions to clean in a cheap way. He organized a clean-up and launched an advertising campaign inviting citizens to urban cleanliness & new gestures. Less waste thrown to the ground is less macro-waste in the water.
Things are starting to move. We hear more and more about the 7th continent and marine pollution. But the problem is also legal. What is macro-waste? Take for example your glasses: as you're on the ground, they are glasses. If they fall into the water, they become a waste, but legally, they are only glasses! this aspect hasn’t been integrated into the Blue Flag Label yet, macro-waste is not considered pollution, it's just an object in the water.
It is essential that the work should be done on a national scale, we need cohesion. But there are solutions, such as to act upstream, directly from sewers, or on the ocean currents that drain waste. Here for example, we suffer from the influence of the Ligure current which brings plastics from Italy. We can no longer fish in this area.
How does being close to the water affect you?
For me, being in the water means freedom, it is another world, adventure, discovery, an area without constraint. I had the opportunity to swim with dolphins and sharks and I never got afraid. I feel safe in the water. Time stands still, there's nothing in your head. When you are in nature, you develop a sensitivity, and then you better perceive how the people you meet feel and suffer.
I feel like I am a child of Cousteau or Hulot. When I was younger, I remember watching a show where Nicolas Hulot had his fingers bitten by a conger. These figures have touched me, they are genuine people, sea lovers, who have the ability to bring others to discover and love new things, to rouse passions.
Have you ever tried stand-up paddling?
I tried once in Corsica, with a friend on a boat, we paddled in the Lavezzi Islands, it was magical! we sailed around granite blocks with these amazing shapes! On the Lavezzi Islands, there are those incredible birds - the Cory's - who speak at night, you have the impression that the island is occupied by spirits, it's very surprising, it's scary!
Do you consider that you live in harmony with nature?
Yes, even if as a fisherman, I know I've done damages. I realized that with the sea, you can take but we must give as well. This is not a pantry from which you can take endlessly.
What would be your message to future generations?
I have a nephew who is a real fish. When he dives, he spontaneously takes a bag with him to pick up what he meets. Children integrate these notions very quickly. So I’d like to tell them: "Do not take example from us. You are the future! ".
