I'm back! Having finished finals and fully entered summer-mode, it's time to get back to the normal posting schedule. Expect consistent, weekly posts (maybe even a few extra ones too) for the next few months. However, before we get back to the normal topics, I wanted to talk about an incredible opportunity I had this past week.
What is Sea Youth Rise Up?
Put simply, Sea Youth Rise Up (or SYRUp for short) is an opportunity for kids around the world to meet in Washington D.C. and work with policy makers, host live streams, and participate in marches, all with the goal of improving the public's outlook on ocean conservation. Over a two and a half day period, the six other delegates and I were able to do a host of different activities, from visiting the Ocean Plastics Lab, to networking, to speaking at a rally. It was an incredible event, and for my return post I wanted to detail what exactly we did, supplementing our own story with ways YOU can help protect our oceans.
Day One
"Day One" of the event was really more of a half-day, focused more on preparation than action. First, because the event was in Washington D.C, I had to fly!
I ended up arriving around 3:00
Once at the airport, I was met by Ben May, one of the first year delegates (in 2016). After meeting up with another one of the current delegates, and introducing ourselves, we took the Metro to our hotel. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take any pictures of it, but there wasn't too much time spent there anyway. My roommate and I introduced ourselves, and after unpacking and getting settled in our rooms, we headed out for dinner at a restaurant called Busboys and Poets.
Now the restaurant was quite neat, combining a bookstore with an additional eating area, but we had little time to focus on how cool it was. Once seated, we launched into discussion about the plans we had for the following day, and what we needed to get prepared in order to succeed during it. We formulated topics of discussion for our meeting with Senate Staffers (more on that in the next post), what we would need in terms of speeches for the live stream (again more on that later), and much more. We were also introduced to one of the challenges we'd be given for the next few days.
The Straw Challenge
As part of the Sea Youth Rise Up event, two delegates were tasked with discussing straw use with the manager in each restaurant we chose to eat at. We talked with them not only about possibly implementing a "straw-upon-request" policy, but using paper or metal straws instead of the commonly used plastic ones. In total, we only got to do this at two restaurants (because most of the time we were eating on the run!) but both were highly successful. The managers at each restaurant were incredibly receptive to the idea, and both agreed to look into it further.
As an aside, this is something anyone can do when they go to a restaurant. Plastic straws, with about 500 million being thrown out every day, are incredibly detrimental to ocean wildlife, causing physical harm when they are ingested, and chemical harm when plastic absorbs toxins in the water. Talking with the manager at a restaurant about using plastic straws only when asked for, or paper/metal straws whenever possible is a great way of limiting the amount of straws that are used and then thrown away every day. Depending on which company you choose, paper and metal straws can actually be cheaper then plastic, the metal of course relying on how often it's reused. Personally, I recommend Aardvark straws, as they're cheap, chemical free, and engineered not to break down in water. Ordering and bringing some of these straws when you talk to managers can really help to get your point across as well.
Now, bringing up the topic of straw use is quite important, but what might be more important is how exactly we bring it up. If you do plan to talk to the manager, make sure to do so in a polite, well-managed manner. Being snarky, mean, or condescending only makes a person less likely to listen to an idea you might have, and this is especially prevalent when it comes to issues of conservation. The goal is to educate and make positive change, not to bring someone down for what they may not know. In the two attempts the SYRUp delegate had, we didn't have an issue with this, but I figured it would be worthwhile to bring up!
After Dinner
With dinner, discussion, and the straw challenge for the day finished, we headed back to the hotel. Once there, we finally had time for formal introductions, with each current and former delegate stating why exactly they came to fell in love with the ocean, and what problem they were looking to solve within their communities. Personally, I developed an interest from my mom, who had worked in various zoos and aquariums all her life. As my issue, I chose Eutrophication, simply because it's a problem that's not often talked about in the grand scheme of environmentalism, and it's one that I've encountered a lot back home. After that, we talked a bit more about what exactly the next day would require, and what we had to get ready, chief among those being speeches for the live stream.
Ending the Day
And, essentially, that was it! With the meeting finished, we all adjourned to our rooms, where my roommate and I worked a bit more on speeches we had started beforehand. Even though it was only the first day, I was already exhausted from finishing up school work before the trip, and dying to get some rest. It wasn't the busiest of days, so I admittedly stayed up working on my speech a bit later than I should have, but I still got to bed at a decent hour. If I had fully grasped what we were going to do the second day, however, then I would have wanted to get to bed much, much earlier.
All credit for (most) of the images used goes to:
http://seayouthriseup.org/
https://www.hcareers.com/job/hotel-resort-lounge-bartender-725D17A9A2A4A245
https://www.busboysandpoets.com/about/shirlington
http://keywordsuggest.org/gallery/609186.html
https://www.aardvarkstraws.com/aardvark-retailers
https://www.talkpoint.com/how-video-and-webcasting-can-help-employees-fulfill-continuing-education-requirements/
https://www.prageru.com/videos/every-american-needs-hear-speech
https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/hotel-safety-checklist-cia-agent
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