On 14th January 2019, eXXpedition’s co-founder Emily Penn ran a plastic pollution workshop in Miami for the US Sailing team. The session focused on the impacts of plastic and toxics on our ocean and helped the team identify how they could apply their own skills to tackling ocean plastic.
The workshop was made possible thanks to a grant from 11th Hour Racing, which has been provided to eXXpedition to deliver impactful sessions for aspiring ocean changemakers and support our series of Round the World voyages.
The interactive session took place as part of a five-day training camp for the athletes, designed to prepare them for the upcoming year of competition. It also included a community clean-up in partnership with VolunteerCleanup.Org and sponsored by World Sailing.
“Emily’s talk inspired our sailors, and her workshop started some great conversations about our role as stewards to the environment and ambassadors to the ocean,” says Meredith Muller Brody, Olympic Director of US Sailing. “The material she shared was not only educational, but eye-opening. It helped our athletes realize that they have a platform and the ability to make a difference by starting with their own actions. We’re looking forward to seeing our athletes practice more sustainable habits in their own lives (on and off the Olympic campaign trail) until they hopefully evolve into proactive ‘changemakers’ like Emily.”
You can read more about the US Sailing Team training camp here, find out more about 11th Hour Racing here and discover more about our eXXpedition Round the World project here.
