There is only one Planet Earth, and Benoit Schumann started Project Rescue Ocean to do his part in making it a cleaner world. Beginning in the South of France, this environmental charity now acts globally. With less talk (moins blabla), more action is undertaken (plus d’actions) to raise public awareness about the world’s ecological state. And you can simply join them at one of their many organised clean-ups. So, roll up your sleeves and help make the world a better place.
Facebook page
It all started in 2014 when Hérault-born fireman Benoit Schumann created a simple Facebook page to share pictures he had taken while diving in the Mediterranean Sea. Initially, he just wanted to highlight how plastic and other waste had turned the sea and the beach into a bin. Soon enough, hundreds of people started following him, and he felt it was time for some real action. Instead of debating what to do for hours and hours, Benoit organised his first beach clean up with the help of friends, colleagues and volunteers. And now, ten years later, the organisation has been a great success! Today, over a thousand volunteers make the numerous clean-ups possible. The simple Facebook page has grown to tens of thousands of followers. On top of that, Project Rescue Ocean is officially part of UNESCO. And Benoit had the honour of carrying the 2024 Olympic flame in Paris.
Raising awareness
Project Rescue Ocean has four objectives, from informing the general public and educating children to creating clean-up locations and raising awareness about waste. Since 2014, 500,000 kilos of waste have been collected via 45 worldwide branches, and 20,000 children have been educated. Every clean-up event is easily accessible and follows the same procedure. The morning starts with a welcome cup of coffee and croissant, followed by two hours of beach (or another location) clean-up while enjoying some tunes. After all the waste is collected, the morning ends with an apéro. Instead of being a moralist, Benoit wants to make people aware of the problem and change their behaviour naturally while also creating a fun, friendly atmosphere.
Beach clean-up
And this approach works, as I experienced when helping clear up the Orpellières beach with the twins. After we gathered our Project Rescue Ocean bag, we started roaming the beach together with hundreds of other volunteers. We mostly found little bits of plastic and manmade materials. Too small to put on the buggy that drove around to collect larger objects. However, we did have to dig a metre-deep hole to free a long piece of iron wire. The two hours went by so quickly. When we returned to dispose of all of our collected waste, we were impressed by all the rubbish the group collected together! Walking back to the car, I had already noticed a change in my twins’ consciousness. To my surprise, they continued looking for waste along the road, which sadly was plentiful. There is still a lot of work to do…
