Beach bums on a cleanup mission
Two UVic grads are off this June to improve coastlines around the world
by Clare Noble
June marks the beginning of adventure on the high seas for two UVic graduates.
Bryson Robertson and Hugh Patterson are embarking on an environmental expedition to raise awareness about the deteriorating state of the world’s polluted oceans.
The project, called OceanGybe, will kick off in La Paz, Mexico, where a sailboat named Khalula (which means “freedom” in Zulu) awaits the duo’s arrival. The research mission aims to document the levels and effects of marine pollution on remote islands and beaches around the world. The journey around the world will take three years, and the men will have to be careful to avoid tropical storms and hurricanes.
Robertson and Patterson both hold degrees in mechanical engineering from UVic but focus their time on raising awareness about the seldom discussed and rapidly increasing problems of ocean contamination and its effects on isolated island communities.
“[Garbage] just piles up on these beaches and affects the local population so much that they can’t fish by the same methods they used to,” said Robertson. “No country wants to take [the pollution problem] on because as soon as they bring awareness to it, they’ve taken it on their shoulders to try and solve the problem, and it’s bigger than one country can solve.”
Robertson and Patterson believe the first step to solving the problem is mapping out where the pollution is.
On top of scheduling press interviews, the duo aims to do presentations at schools and work interactively with children via the Internet as they document their journey and findings regularly on the OceanGybe website and Google Earth.
The activists will be updating the website with information about the culture of each location as well as pictures of the islands. The site will also discuss the amount and type of pollution, as well as the suspected source of the pollution found at each location.
Robertson is doing work on his PhD at Queen’s University, and Queen’s is a partner in the OceanGybe project. One of the studies that will be conducted in association with Queen’s involves hyper-spectral photography. It is a non-invasive study that is intended to create a baseline showing the current status of the world’s coral health, to be re-examined in approximately five years.
“The trip started as purely hedonistic,” said Robertson. “We want[ed] to go and surf, and sail around the world, and then we were like, ‘you know what? We’ve got an amazing opportunity here to do a lot more than that.’ The ocean’s brought us so much pleasure in our lives and nobody’s taking care of it.”
The avid surfers are partnering up with many surfing organizations, including local company Sitka Surfboards, who will be releasing a series of clothing that will have a tag with information about their trip and some of the results, said Robertson.
Robertson and Patterson are confident that the next three years will not be wasted time, even though they are still searching for a large presenting sponsor to help actualize the dreams of the global outreach expedition.
“A gybe is a movement that brings about change. It’s a sailing term that’s a 180 degree turn, but it’s not a quick one; it’s a slow one,” said Robertson. “I think it’s fairly applicable to where we would like to see people in society start to move towards a more sustainable, recyclable, less damaging way of life.”