E Wen Wong is a passionate environmental advocate, innovator, and founder of plastic pollution organisation, P.S. Our Beaches. She was first introduced to the plastic pollution issue at the 2013 Future Problem Solving National Finals, through researching the topic ‘Ocean Soup’. After three years of growing her knowledge and identifying a need for positive change, she founded P.S. Our Beaches, an organisation working to rid our environment of single use plastics. In this time, the organisation has expanded with volunteers right across the country and as far as Portugal and Thailand. E Wen was a recipient of one of this year’s New Zealand Youth Awards for her commitment to the environment and, in the past two years, has initiated litter audits, awareness posts on sustainability initiatives and interviews with the Department of Conservation and UNESCO to raise the profile of the beach pollution issue. The Burnside High School student is also a UN Youth High School Ambassador and volunteer with 350 Aotearoa. The latest project stemming from P.S. Our Beaches is the EnviroPAST conference – a day of environmental education and inspiration for New Zealand’s youth.

Senior Ocean Champion Challenge Name: EnviroPAST (Plastic And Sustainability Talks)

What is the problem your Ocean Challenge is trying to solve?  Human induced actions are major contributors of marine pollution and greater environmental harm, such as that to the climate, natural environment and biodiversity. Plastic pollution is a major cause of marine pollution, with rubbish from inland often making its way to the ocean, leading to mistaken consumption by birds, fish and other marine mammals. There are 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste on Earth, more than ¾ of it piling up in landfills and the natural environment. With estimates that plastic will outweigh fish by 2050, the production of these materials continues to contribute large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere—yet another factor of climate change. Ironically, the oceans have always acted as a means of mitigating human-induced impacts including the burning of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases which have the potential to greatly impact the Earth’s systems. However, our dependency on the ocean for climate change mitigation and our continued production of plastic is leading to increased CO2 content, lowering ocean pH levels, ocean acidification, and decreased oxygen content. Such impacts threaten the ocean’s ability to continue its usual carbon sequestration process, going on to place threats on food security, shoreline protection and sustainable economic development. Due to this rising and increasingly worrying issue, there is a local, national and global need to deter the population from plastic litter cultures, while working to dispose of the existing accumulation of plastic in a sustainable manner.

How will your Ocean Challenge solve this problem? Be specific – identify objectives, actions and outcomes: EnviroPAST – Plastic And Sustainability Talks – is all about moving forward with plastic pollution is all about inspiring young people to make real, positive environmental change in their own lives and the lives of others. EnviroPAST will take place on Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th of April 2019 at the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, inclusive of speaker sessions, hands-on workshops and a tree planting at Styx Mill (sponsored by Trees for Canterbury). It is our hope that, through EnviroPAST, we can provide not just a conference that comes and goes, but a space for all youth to network with those passionate about the same issues they are. The Zero Carbon Bill, plastic-free movement, ECan Youth engagement schemes and the Burnside High School Environment Group’s amazing tree planting work are all examples of beacons of change for our local communities. However, these are schemes all youth, not just those perceived as leaders or future politicians, should be a part of. We believe that young people have a calling to break the stereotypes of a teenage culture and actively engage in environmental issues, be it by partaking in conversations, staying in campaign loops or minimising their individual plastic footprints. To do this, the facilitation of accessible events, platforms and conversations with a range of youth is key. We believe that it is initiatives like these, led by youth, for youth, that give our city the best hope of achieving a truly sustainable future.

How will you engage with others to undertake your Ocean Challenge? We hope to involve approximately 200 people from across the country, primarily between the ages of 12 and 24, including attendees, sponsors, speakers and workshop facilitators. EnviroPAST will provide them with opportunities to learn from and act on new environmental knowledge in unique and interesting ways. Some of our speakers include:

• Professor Ian Shaw (University of Canterbury Lecturer and Toxicologist)
• Deborah Russell (MP for New Lynn and Chair of the Environment Select Committee)
• Raquelle de Vine (Founder & Director of Algalita South Pacific)
• Anthea Madill (Remix Plastic)
• Helen Townsend-Rupp (Founder & CEO of The Rubbish Whisperer)
• Paul Evans (CEO of WasteMINZ)
• Kate Meads (Waste Free with Kate)
• Helena Ruffell (University of Canterbury Environmental Science Masters Student and Zero Waste Blogger) and more!

How will you measure the success of your Ocean Challenge? We will measure success through:

• Survey feedback from attendees and speakers
• Establishment of a post-conference social media network and mailing list to follow up on how attendees have instigated change in their communities
• Feedback from schools and community groups.
• We will also collect data from the tree planting to evaluate its successes and areas for improvement.

More information: https://psbeaches.com/enviropast/

Entry supported / validated by: Harriet Fraser and William Wray

Click here to see all the Seaweek 2019 Ocean Champion Challenges