Friendly Drifter cares about the following programs – all do great work that we Value and Support. Please visit their links to learn more.
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Plastic Pollution Coalition is a global alliance of individuals, organizations, businesses and policymakers working toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impact on humans, animals, the ocean and the environment.
Mission Clean Beaches
As a research biologist, Nikia focuses on sea turtles, particularly vision, diet, and most recently plastics ingestion. As founder of Mission Clean Beaches (MCB ) the goal was to bring awareness to marine litter and to hopefully inspire action. MCB performs beach cleanups and surveys, educational outreach, social media awareness, and scientific research focusing on plastics pollution.
Plastic Bank
On May 24 2013, they went to work creating The Plastic Bank. David Katz focused on financing the business and attracting the right partners. Shaun coined the term Social Plastic® and created the social media and brand strategy to introduce The Plastic Bank to the world. Over the next year The Plastic Bank was featured in over 200 interviews worldwide.
Dr. Nic Lendvoy
Dr. Lendvoy has been an integral part of the Ocean Rescue Run. He heard about my run through social media and reached out to me willing to provide support when/if necessary; he always replies hastily. Dr. Lendvoy helped me through my ankle injury near the beginning of my run and helped me through my most recent injury. I highly recommend Dr. Lendvoy for anyone struggling with chronic pain or sport related injuries. He is currently the Chiropractor and head performance therapist for the UBC varsity baseball team and resource clinician for their associated public indoor training facility. He can be contacted though his website . Thanks a bunch Nic!
Tangaroa Blue Foundation
My name is Renee and I have always loved the ocean and the beach, having grown up alongside it. Some of my favourite memories as a child were beach-combing after winter storms and shell collecting with my family. As a result of my love for the ocean I ended up studying Marine Biology at university but was never entirely sure what to do with my degree. I knew conservation and the environment were really important to me.
About 12 years ago I sat down on the beach while my boyfriend surfed and started to notice all these small plastic pieces dotted throughout the sand. I started picking them up and I’ve never stopped. I replaced collecting shells with picking up plastic off our shores. Where I live here in Western Australia we get some pretty decent winter storms with big ocean-going swells that bring rubbish from far away and dump it on our local beaches. The majority of what I find is broken up plastic items. I have never been a fan of plastic, long ago I learned of its inorganic nature and its inability to breakdown and its potential toxicity. Seeing it washing up in high numbers on our shores had me concerned.
At around the same time Tangaroa Blue Foundation (www.tangaroablue.org) was starting up locally and I got on board and started conducting regular monthly clean-ups, collecting data on what I was finding. I got more and more interested and concerned over the plastic tide washing up on our shores and the implications on the marine environment and our planet as a whole. One day I watched ‘One Beach’ – a documentary showcasing people from all over the world who shared the same concerns about plastics in our oceans. The incredible artwork and jewellery being created from ocean-going plastic was amazing. It was a turning point for me. I saw the beauty in all that trash and I realized that if we are going to turn back the plastic tide we need people to see rubbish as a valuable commodity rather than something to throw away. From there my Facebook page Plastic is Forever was born. I wanted a space to share my ideas, interesting articles, as well as photos of my beach clean up finds. My page has connected me to so many like-minded and concerned people right around the world, working on making a difference in their home town, on their local beach, in their community, or on an even bigger scale. It has given me hope that together we can make a difference and turn back this plastic tide once and for all.
Surfrider
A staff of nearly 50 people help support this network in their campaigns, champion for policy and fight legal battles for our coasts, bring awareness to the issues facing our ocean, provide critical support on stuff like accounting, technology, and HR, and raise money to make all of this happen. We have an appetite for adventure and we all share a common passion – we love and appreciate our ocean, waves and beaches.
Stay Raja Ampat
Site that provides the information needed to plan and budget a trip to one of the most diverse, wild & beautiful places on the planet – the Raja Ampat islands, Indonesia. Meet other travelers and discuss plans and experiences on the site.
Kayak 4 Conservation
We serve as a development institution for local people of the Raja Ampat archipelago. Our goal is to fulfill their overall need for capital, through setting up ventures where they get to generate an income independently.
Eco-friendly – For us, as stewards of this stunning unique creation, ‘eco-friendly’ is not only looking after nature but also supporting the people here in Papua, Raja Ampat.
Bridge the gap – Our aim is to bridge the gap between those who are curious and passionate about nature and culture, with the resources and services already available from the people within Raja Ampat.
Minimize our impact -With our overall approach we hope to minimize our impact on the environment and maximize conservation efforts.
Trash Walking Moms
About me: I live in a beautiful neighbourhood called Port Credit, which is part of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on the shores of Lake Ontario. I love everything about this neighbourhood. It has a small town feel, although it is only a 15 minute drive from downtown Toronto. It is a spot that attracts a lot of visitors on a sunny summer day, and it’s a spot that those of us who live here really love. A couple of years ago I began to take note of a lot of litter on the streets, and, rather than complain about it, I picked up a bucket and began to make an effort to clean it up. It’s been a progression since then, and I have become more and more involved in doing this. I began to spend increasing amounts of time picking up, created my Trash Walking Moms Facebook page, and started to photograph and comment on the trash I had picked up. As I did this, I came to learn from other pages about the extent of the worldwide plastic pollution problem is. I try to use my page to educate and encourage people to make better consumer choices, and to help in the fight against litter, whenever and wherever they are.
Thank you to everyone that has provided help on this journey!
Amazing who you meet along the way. Through her work, my mom came across a fella who she approached about his 1985 Westfalia Van…she knew I was looking for one. This particular van was rarely moved and seemed to be rather permanently parked in the same spot, for over a year. Being an older vintage – an ’85 just like me – mom gave the owner Shannon, a call to inquire.
Turns out Shannon was interested in selling, but wanted to know more about who was buying the van. Mom explained it was for me and funny coincidence; we shared the same last name (Shannon & me). I was away, working at a jade mine for the season, and couldn’t meet with him personally, so mom suggested he check out my Friendly Drifter website; figured it was the best way to get to know me better.
To my complete surprise, Shannon gave me an incredible deal on the van! THANK YOU SHANNON!! Having the van goes a long way in helping me achieve my goal of keeping expenses as low as possible. This way I can devote my energy and earnings to the causes I’m passionate about. When I’m out of the mining camp, or back from Raja Ampat, I now have a camper van to call home; my new base of operations!
Shannon is the founder of the North American Fire Fighter Veteran Network. An organization devoted to support, counseling and consultation services for first responders suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, www.firefighterveteran.com. It has been very fortunate for me to have known Shannon. He was a great help to me just months after purchasing the van, during the aftermath of a tragic event that occurred during the summer … moments shared, that I will never forget. The tremendous support one human can give another is remarkable and truly inspirational.
Shannon’s kindness and supportive empathy has gone above and beyond the emotional. His generosity has now included the gift of a Luders design, Choey Lee 36 foot sailboat. I was completely caught off guard and totally blown away by the offer and initially declined. I simply don’t have the means to maintain a sailboat. However, Shannon has urged me to use the proceeds from the sale of the boat towards continuing with my humanitarian efforts, and doing what I can to help create a healthy planet.
Once again, THANK YOU SHANNON!! I hope to have the same positive effect on the lives of others, as you have had on mine.