SA environmental organisation wins global Climate Action Award

Photo: Charlie Dailey

I Am Water founder and CEO Hanli Prinsloo is thrilled that their efforts are being recognised: “We are wired to protect what we love, and it is so impactful to educate the youth in marine conservation through transformational ocean experiences.

“We take learners on our two-day Ocean Guardians snorkelling workshops to spark a connection and love for the sea and its creatures, inspiring participants to be more conservation-minded and to want to take care of the oceans.”

About the award

The Sport for Climate Action Collective Impact Award – supported by the Swedish Postcode Foundation is for any non-profit, team, league, governing body, or corporation using sport to address climate change, reduce emissions, and advocate for sustainable policy across the world.

In addition to following Beyond Sport’s Five Basic Principles, the entry must show that it is contributing toward one or more of the targeted outcomes for Global Goal #13 – Climate Action:

• Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
  
• Integrate climate change measures into policies, strategies and planning.

Since 2010, I Am Water has provided global opportunities to engage and educate ocean-users with the world beneath the waves, in order to help more people understand their personal role and responsibility in protecting the planet.

Photo: Charlie Dailey

Healthy humans, healthy oceans

I Am Water believes in ocean conservation through transformative ocean experience. Their mission is to ignite a movement of blue minds across the planet, to facilitate physical and emotional connections to the aquatic environment, to build understanding of the interdependence of healthy humans and healthy oceans and to influence behaviours to protect our global seas.

“We are passionate about working with underprivileged coastal communities where, despite living walking distance to the shoreline, you often find young people who have never seen the world just beneath the waves”, says Prinsloo.

“We work with schools located within 5km from the ocean in under-served communities. Our primary target group is grade seven learners and our groups are a maximum of 24 participants, with the goal to work with all the grade seven pupils in a particular school each year. Right now our work has been focused in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain but we are excited to work with the Atlantic side this coming spring season.”

Prinsloo says that the experiences are transformative in many ways: “We help children, who have feared or never experienced the ocean, to enjoy it for the first time, and to understand the importance of conservation.”

For more information, go to www.iamwaterfoundation.org.