The Beacon
Blog Tags: Activism
Ocean Hero Finalists: Andrew Hayford
This is the twelfth and final in a series of posts about this year’s Ocean Hero finalists.
We’re rounding out our series on the Ocean Hero finalists today with Andrew Hayford, a high school junior who has been an ocean conservation stand-out in his hometown of York, Maine.
Andrew first got involved when he was learning to surf at age 12 and noticed trash in the water and on the beaches. He’s been working to clean up the coast of southern Maine ever since. Since 2006, he has been involved in almost 30 beach cleanups and has hosted more than 10 of his own.
In 2010, Andrew won a Planet Connect grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation to educate 150 kindergarten and second grade students about ocean pollution and how they could help. He conducted an art contest with these students, which became the centerpiece of his “Keep Our Beaches Clean” campaign.
Ocean Hero Finalists: Dylan Vecchione
This is the eleventh in a series of posts about this year’s Ocean Hero finalists.
Today’s featured junior ocean hero finalist is 12-year-old Dylan Vecchione, who was nominated for his commitment to coral reef conservation.
Ocean Hero Finalists: Sophi Bromenshenkel
This is the tenth in a series of posts about this year’s Ocean Hero finalists.
Today’s featured junior Ocean Hero finalist is shy eight-year-old Sophi Bromenshenkel, who has been working from her hometown of Richfield, Minnesota to protect sharks.
Sophi’s interest in the oceans started on a fishing trip with her uncle in the Florida Keys four years ago. Last year, when she saw a pregnant bull shark left for dead on a beach near her uncle’s home, she decided she had to take action.
By selling lemonade and hot chocolate, shark cookies and wristbands, and through email campaigns and local fliers, Sophi has raised more than $3,500 for sharks. She has partnered with the University of Miami’s RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program, where her funds pay for satellite tags on sharks.
Ocean Hero Finalists: Wyatt Workman
This is the ninth in a series of posts about this year’s Ocean Hero finalists.
Today’s featured junior ocean hero finalist is eight-year-old Wyatt Workman, who may be familiar to some of you since we have written about his activism and artwork before.
But in case you don’t know Wyatt, he is quite a special young ocean lover. A talented artist, he has dedicated himself to getting the word out about the plastic pollution fouling our oceans. Through his artistic endeavors, including a book, clay figures, and a claymation movie, “Save the Sea from the Trash Monster!”, Wyatt has raised nearly $4,000 for Oceana.
In late 2010, more than 300 people attended Wyatt’s art show, where he sold out of all 70 art pieces he made. He now has a waiting list for his art and he gets about 10-20 people a day signing his website pledge to make changes in their lives to keep trash - particularly plastic - out of the ocean.
He was also recently honored by the Pacific Aquarium in Long Beach, CA as their Young Hero of the Year, his book has been named "Book of the Month" by A&I Books in Los Angeles, and he has been featured in Time Magazine for Kids.
Whew! Impressive for an eight-year-old, huh?
Have you voted yet? Check out the other finalists, cast your vote and spread the word! And stay tuned for more spotlighted finalists in the coming days!
Special thanks to the sponsors of the Ocean Heroes Award for making all of this possible: Nautica, Revo and For Cod & Country, the new book by chef and National Geographic fellow Barton Seaver.
Join Us for Hands Across the Sand on June 25!
Remember Hands Across the Sand, last year’s explosively popular international demonstration against offshore drilling and for clean energy? The second annual event will take place on June 25 at noon local time all over the world, and Oceana is playing a central role.
Last year’s HANDS brought more than 100,000 people to beaches and parks to join hands for fifteen minutes in a display of solidarity.
Instead of passing laws limiting offshore drilling or raising the liability cap in the event of another major spill, Congress is going in the opposite direction and voting for more offshore drilling, including a major expansion to the East Coast.
Bills being considered now would actually make drilling even less safe than it was before the spill. This fact, along with increasing popular demand for renewable energies, promises a large showing of ocean-lovers to stand up for what’s right.
We’re drawing a metaphorical line in the sand against offshore drilling, will you join us? Check out the details or sign up to organize an event in your community at www.handsacrossthesand.com.
Matt Dundas is a campaign manager at Oceana; he serves on the National Advisory Council for HANDS and attended the 2010 event outside the White House.
Vote for the 2011 Ocean Heroes!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year - time to vote for this year’s Ocean Heroes! The contest is back for the third year and the nominees are more inspiring than ever.
After carefully reviewing more than 500 excellent nominations (thanks to all the nominators!), our expert panel selected a group of six adult finalists and six junior finalists from around the country.
We’re really excited about this year’s crop of finalists, which include an inner-city scuba teacher, a deep-sea engineer, a young artist, plus shark, sea turtle and anti-oil drilling activists, and that’s just a start -- you won’t be disappointed by their stories.
The winners will be announced on June 8th, World Oceans Day, and will receive a prize package that includes great gifts from our corporate sponsors: a gift card from Nautica, a pair of Revo polarized sunglasses and a copy of For Cod & Country, the new guide to sustainable seafood from acclaimed Washington D.C. chef Barton Seaver.
You can vote for your favorite heroes in both the adult and junior categories until May 31. After voting, please help us spread the word by sharing on Facebook and Twitter!
Where Are They Now?: Casey Sokolovic
We are now accepting nominations for our third annual Ocean Heroes Contest! Today we’re catching up with one of our favorites, sea turtle activist Casey Sokolovic.
Casey might look familiar - we can’t get enough of her ever since she was a nominee in the first annual Ocean Heroes contest in 2009. She’s now 13, but her parents say she still isn’t allowed to have a cell phone. Judging by all of her activities, she probably doesn’t have time to chat on the phone anyway…
Last year she had an internship at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Topsail Island, NC. She helped with the care of the injured turtles and video blogged her experiences at her website, loveaseaturtle.com.
That’s not all. She’s also busy giving school presentations about sea turtles, and participating at camps with Boys and Girls Clubs in North Carolina. She says she really wants to inspire other kids to help, too.
We are, as ever, inspired by Casey’s dedication to sea turtles. Thanks, Casey!
Nominations end April 27, so don’t delay -- nominate an ocean hero in your life today!
Guest Post: My Orca Summer
We are now accepting nominations for our third annual Ocean Heroes Contest! Today we’re featuring a guest post by 2009 finalist Emily Goldstein about her summer trip to the OrcaLab in British Columbia.
Last summer I was privileged to be able to spend eight weeks studying one of the most remarkable species in our world, the orca. I want to share with you the amazing journey I had, and tell you about my time with the orcas.
Snuggled in the inside passage between British Columbia and Vancouver Island, there is a small isle called Hanson Island. This is the home of magnificent bald eagles, playful mink, and an emerald-green evergreen forest. It is also the home of a land-based research station called OrcaLab, which was founded by Dr. Paul Spong in 1970.
Christie’s Green Auction Raises $1.4 Million (So Far)
Last Tuesday evening, the live component of Christie’s Green Auction raised $1.4 million to benefit four environmental organizations: Oceana, Conservation International, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and The Central Park Conservancy. But it’s not quite over -- the online auction is still accepting bids until tomorrow.
The glamorous event was co-hosted by David and Susan Rockefeller, Graydon and Anna Carter and Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault. Attendees included Anna Wintour, David Rockefeller Sr., Diane Kruger, Zoe Kravitz, Alexander Wang, Sam Waterson, Ted Danson and Michael Kors, among many others.
Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers emceed the auction and even helped officiate amid witty repartee with Lydia Fenet, Christie’s Director of Strategic Partnerships. Top lots included a Hollywood experience during the Oscars and a day shadowing President Bill Clinton — each raised $100,000.
After the auction, models strutted down the catwalk in a fashion show that debuted exclusive items by top designers for a “Runway to Green Collection”. Pieces from the collection are available for purchase on Net-A-Porter.com, and will be available in stores this fall. The finale of the evening was a surprise performance by Nicki Minaj, who sang several numbers wearing a fittingly half-green bride of Frankenstein wig.
Where Are They Now?: The Shark Finatics
As you know, we are now accepting nominations for our third annual Ocean Heroes Contest. Throughout the nomination period, which ends April 27th, I’ll be featuring a few of the past winners and finalists to get you inspired. First up, the 2010 Junior Ocean Heroes: the Shark Finatics.
To jog your memory, the Shark Finatics are a group of students at Green Chimneys School in Brewster, New York who have raised more than $2,000 for shark research and conservation organizations around the world - and an immeasurable amount of awareness about shark finning.
The Finatics’ teacher Robin Culler recently wrote to us with an enthusiastic update about her students. They were recently featured in the Southeast Brewster Patch, and Culler says the “the kids were awesome and you couldn't get a word in edgewise! They were so thrilled to teach yet one more person about sharks.”
