Alison Teal X SLO active's Adventures in London
When Alison got in touch earlier this year to let us know that she was due to visit London for the UK launch of her “education through entertainment” kids book, we pulled together all of our contacts to show her around.
An unlikely photoshoot took place all over London with a team of incredible humans: photographer Olivier Morin, videographer Valentin with assistants Clara and Anne, and our invaluable London cab driver, Gary – not to mention, our founder Janaya Wilkins who designed the suits that Alison was wearing on her trip.
It almost seems surreal to think that this all took place only last month before anyone could have imagined that within weeks, half of humanity would find itself confined at home to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t change Alison’s aim: to convey the warning that the world’s oceans are in trouble and she hopes to inspire youngsters to act.
The exciting day spent exploring London landmarks started with a trip to the Horse Guards and continued to a number of famous landmarks, ending in a stunning sunset “Board Meeting” that SLO organised.
The ‘paddle and pick’ event took place at Kew Bridge on the River Thames with Active 360 and took place between World Wildlife Day and International Women’s Day. We pulled together some of our key contacts in plastic pollution and marine conservation to shine a light on the great work of many ocean nonprofits based in London.
Carolyn from The Whale Company came down to meet us with baby Sophia in tow and brought with her the paddleboard made of plastic bottles that she and husband Carlos paddled the River Thames from source to sea on.
We were delighted to bring together representatives from some incredible organisations on the day:
Plastic Oceans UK – a non-profit organisation solving the plastic pollution crisis, who have been experts on plastic pollution for a decade, starting with the award-winning documentary A Plastic Ocean. It’s been named by Sir David Attenborough as “one of the most important films of our time” and has ignited mass consumer awareness.
Surfers Against Sewage (as Plastic Free Communities) – a grassroots movement tackling plastic pollution and protecting the UK’s coastlines for all to enjoy safely and sustainably. Best known for their plastic free communities and large scale beach cleans.
The Whale Company – the creators of Source to Sea, Carlos and Carolyn paddled the length of the River Thames from Lechlade, beyond the Thames Barrier to the sea at Erith. They paddled nearly 300km on their plastic Bottle Boards hoping to inspire behaviour change.
Pogolution – passionate about educating children about the planet and the consequences of rubbish and especially single-use plastic. Not only do they regularly present at primary and secondary schools but we have also set up school plogging clubs which allows the children to get involved and become passionate about cleaning up their local environment.
Verdn – On an over-exploited planet, truly ethical consumption can only come from products that are ‘net good’ to the world. Verdn lets you create and sell products that are ‘net good’, effortlessly. We call them ‘impact products’. Their first cause is ocean cleanup.
Thank you to all who helped bring such an amazing day together. We couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you.
Learn about our collaboration with Alison Teal and City to Sea here.
