From June 8–17, 2023, thousands of people and more than 50 organizations will join together worldwide to clean beaches and coasts as part of Oceanic Society’s 2023 Global Ocean Cleanup in partnership with Sea Turtle Week. We are pleased to share that our very own Expedition Impact Fund is funding one of the seven $2,000 grants that Oceanic Society is making to support cleanups worldwide, alongside support from our other sponsors.
To hear more about the Expeditions Impact Fund and its sponsorship of a cleanup in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji, we sat down for a Q&A with our director of conservation travel programs, Wayne Sentman.
Q: What is the Expedition Impact Fund and what was the motivation for creating it?
Oceanic Society has been a leader in ecotourism since 1969, supporting communities and conservation projects through our unique expeditions. Our trips allow travelers to participate in community-based conservation efforts, and they also provide consistent and reliable support to local conservation efforts. Through our travel programs we have established long-term relationships with many local partners, earning their trust and allowing us to become more than just a “nature tour company.”
In an effort to provide additional support to our partners, in 2019 we created the Expedition Impact Fund (EIF). The fund is seeded by contributions from Oceanic Society and our travelers, and provides small grants to our partners that help ensure the continuity of their research and conservation projects. Our travelers regularly meet and interact with our partners during our expeditions, and the EIF provides a direct means through which they can further support their work.
Read more: Expeditions Impact Fund Grantee Michael Mwang’ombe Making Waves in Kenya
Q: What do you hope to accomplish through the Expedition Impact Fund?
The Expedition Impact Fund serves two primary purposes. The first is to offer our travelers a direct and impactful way to support conservation work and needs of local partners that they meet during our expeditions. The second is to ensure that our expeditions align with our partners’ regional goals to conduct research, promote community conservation, and establish sustainable livelihoods based on the non-consumptive use of wildlife.
Read more: Oceanic Society’s Traveler Plastic Pollution Offset Program
An aerial view of one of the Beqa Lagoon Initiative’s cleanup sites. © Pacific Blue Foundation
Q: Tell us a bit about the group that the Expedition Impact Fund is sponsoring for the 2023 Global Ocean Cleanup.
The Expedition Impact Fund is sponsoring the Beqa Lagoon Initiative of the Pacific Blue Foundation for a cleanup in Rukua and Raviravi villages on Beqa Island, Fiji. Oceanic Society first learned about the Beqa Lagoon Initiative (BLI) and its partnership with the Pacific Blue Foundation in 2017 when our snorkeling group visited Beqa Lagoon for the first time.
A grant from the Expeditions Impact Fund will support cleanup efforts in Beqa, Fiji led by Pacific Blue Foundation.
During this trip, we had the pleasure of meeting the local program director, Sefano Katz, who accompanied our group and provided invaluable insight into the community’s coral reef conservation efforts. Since then, we have consistently made efforts to involve our travelers in the BLI’s various conservation projects, including the outplanting of coral to help restore a local reef.
As a community program that aims to promote nature-based solutions to alleviate poverty and enhance community development, and one that is directly connected to our Fiji trips, the Beqa Lagoon Initiative is an ideal recipient of an Expedition Impact Fund grant.
Read more: Shallow Water Wonders in Fiji, Soft Coral Capital of the World
Q: What are you most excited about for the 2023 Global Ocean Cleanup and for the Beqa Lagoon Initiative?
I am particularly excited about the Beqa Lagoon Initiative’s (BLI) enthusiasm to participate in our Global Ocean Cleanup and their full understanding of the growing threat of plastic pollution to the oceans, marine wildlife, and local communities. I am also thrilled to see the impact that our expeditions program has on-the-ground and the value it provides to our partners, as this grant demonstrates. This is precisely what we strive to achieve year after year.
Read more: How Oceanic Society Expeditions Support Conservation
A snorkeler explores on of Fiji’s many beautiful coral reefs. © Pete Oxford
Q: What do you want people to know about the Expedition Impact Fund that they might not already?
The Expedition Impact Fund is funded through donations from our guests after their trips and with profits earned by Oceanic Society in the operation of our travel programs. In addition, the EIF provides added value directly to our travelers’ experience. We offer small grants before the trip to allow a local expert to work with our group and demonstrate first-hand the research being conducted. This helps travelers gain a better understanding of the conservation challenges and how local communities are addressing them.
Read more: Puerto Rican Coral Reefs Recover With Help From Local Scientists, and You!
Get more information and follow along with the 2023 Global Ocean Cleanup here!
