#justoneswap

Just One Ocean volunteer ambassadors help to raise awareness of our work and encourage others to get involved in (fundraising) activities. Being an ambassador is an important role because it helps Just One Ocean reach new people and inspire new charity activity. We will be updating information on our ambassador programme in due course.

My name is Amy White, and this is how I started working to help save our oceans during my gap year.

I was a Year 13 student at QEHS last year and due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the exam marking situation I ended up taking an enforced gap year to get my dream place at Oxford University.

With travel completely out of the picture, and wanting to make the most of my time, I contacted a handful of ocean conservation charities in search of an opportunity to help out in an area I am passionate about.

Just One Ocean responded and we began working together on a TikTok social media campaign. The campaign is called #Justoneswap and aims to promote small but effective changes we can make to reduce the amount of plastic we use. The driving force behind the idea was knowing that the oceans are essential for our existence on this planet, and if they are full of plastic, and not functioning as they should, we are not only hindering our survival but the survival of all marine organisms.

The process of shifting to a greener, more plastic-free lifestyle is an overwhelming adjustment and therefore my goal was to promote simple swaps, such as swapping from shampoo bottles to shampoo bars (which work just as well), to make the change progressive and gradual. I hope to encourage a ‘#justoneswap at a time approach’, as every change we make significantly reduces how much plastic enters our oceans as plastic pollution. If you would like to have a look at the campaign, and maybe implement some of these ideas into your daily life, head over to the Just One Ocean TikTok account!