Sustainable Coastlines announces new litter-reduction goal for Seaweek | Sustainable Coastlines

This week is Seaweek, Aotearoa’s celebration of the sea, and ocean charity Sustainable Coastlines is ramping up efforts to protect our ocean. Waste, plastic pollution in particular, contributes to climate change and threatens both marine habitats and human health. It is an issue that demands urgent, dedicated attention, which is why Sustainable Coastlines is renewing its focus on clean beaches with an ambitious goal: reduce coastal litter by 60% by 2030.

When Sustainable Coastlines was founded in 2009, beach clean-ups were a fairly fringe activity. But the problem was big — Sustainable Coastlines’ first clean-up on Aotea Great Barrier saw 2.8 tonnes of litter removed from the remote island, with another 3.1 tonnes pulled from the same location a year later.

For co-founders Sam Judd and Camden Howitt, finding the situation worse just a year on told them that while beach clean-ups themselves were important, the amount of litter on our beaches wasn’t going to change without behaviour and policy change. Since then, Sustainable Coastlines has inspired communities across Aotearoa to take action at their local beach through clean-ups and education, and helped to nurture growing public interest in the issue of beach litter.

A volunteer removes rope littered on Rangitoto during one of Sustainable Coastlines’ island clean-up days.

To measure national progress towards its 60% goal, Sustainable Coastlines will use data from its Litter Intelligence programme. According to Community Engagement Director, Ben Knight, litter data will also be key to informing policy and action to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up on the beach.

“We’ve already made headway informing policy change through Litter Intelligence. Citizen science data helped to inform the nationwide phase-out of hard-to-recycle plastics that’s currently underway,” says Knight.

“Litter data collection is a great way to engage and empower communities to take action for their local beach, but it also contributes invaluable data that’s available for anyone to use.”

It’s in this intersection of community action and policy change that the charity can reduce the amount of rubbish found on our coastlines, says Sustainable Coastlines CEO, Josh Borthwick.

A Litter Intelligence citizen scientist displays some of her findings on Kāpiti Island. Credit: Ministry for the Environment.

Hon David Parker, Minister for the Environment has previously highlighted the Litter Intelligence data set as, “a huge advantage to the Ministry for the Environment as a public policy tool, as it shows the areas that are most problematic and highlights to us the things that can be fixed.”

Sustainable Coastlines’ renewed focus on litter means that it will no longer be running its riparian planting programme, Love Your Water, which was established in 2014 and has seen volunteers plant more than 330,000 trees beside Aotearoa’s waterways.

“The decision to focus solely on litter was tough. Love Your Water — and all the people that got behind it, from volunteers to funders — has made a strong contribution to healthier waterways over the years. But the issue of waste is where Sustainable Coastlines can make the biggest difference to our environment,” says Borthwick.

Volunteers celebrate at the Hirepool Big Clean, a Sustainable Coastlines-run event during Seaweek.

According to Borthwick, this new strategic direction will allow the charity a greater focus on litter data to inspire insights and action around the problem, and we can expect more of the fun and inspiring beach clean-up days that Sustainable Coastlines is known for, including several events during Seaweek.

“We’re building the clearest picture of the litter problem on Aotearoa’s beaches, which ultimately impacts our oceans. You can’t change what you can’t measure and you can’t unsee the tohu, or signs, once they’re visible, so it’s our belief that the insight from this data will drive the change we need to forge a sustainable way forward.”

“We’re also having a pretty great time doing this, and would love to see some new faces at our events. So we extend the invitation to everyone to come along to our Seaweek events, have some fun looking after the places you love, and get cracking on progress on our new goal.”

Register for Sustainable Coastlines events at sustainablecoastlines.org/events

Seaweek events
Sat 11 March, Hirepool Big Clean, Petone, WLG
Sat 11 March, Estuary Edge Clean-up, Te Ihutai/ Avon-Heathcote Estuary, CHCH
Sat 11 March, Seaweek Celebration, St Mary’s Bay, AKL
Sun 12 Mar, ‘The Ocean’ event, Sumner Centre, CHCH

Big news for Sustainable Coastlines comes today, with Co-founder and Programmes Director Camden Howitt announcing he is moving on from the charity after nearly 14 years of mahi for our oceans.

Since early 2009, Camden has been a driving force for solutions to ocean pollution. Alongside co-founder Sam Judd, Camden designed and delivered programmes that have removed 1.7 million litres of litter from coastlines, planted 330,000 trees to restore waterways, engaged 150,000 volunteers and provided education for ocean action to 250,000 people.

More recently, Camden spearheaded the 2018 launch of the charity’s newest, award-winning programme Litter Intelligence, training ‘citizen scientists’ at over 300 beaches nationwide to monitor and take action on marine litter and plastic pollution.

A passionate advocate for our moana and awa, Camden has delivered community-based environmental solutions for Sustainable Coastlines around Aotearoa and the Pacific. With his years of strategy, community engagement and programme design experience, Camden combines a deep connection with the outdoors with a drive for collaboration to build large-scale change. A regular contributor to national, regional and global dialogue on sustainability, Camden is an expert at creating innovative solutions that work.

Reflecting on his departure, Camden said that while it was a tough decision, the time was right and he leaves a legacy of well-established programmes and a great team to continue the mahi.

“I’m super excited about the next stage of my journey, and the opportunity to address some of the greatest sustainability challenges Aotearoa faces,” says Camden. “My love for our oceans, and my drive to protect them, is stronger than ever, and I’m committed to continuing to push for better outcomes for our moana.”

Camden (left) at a tree-planting event at Auckland’s Puhinui Reserve

While he is finishing up his Programmes Director role at Sustainable Coastlines, Camden will continue his ongoing mahi to solve plastic pollution through his membership of the Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance, as a Litter Intelligence Citizen Scientist, and through his daily actions.

Announcing Camden’s departure, Sustainable Coastlines Chair Samantha Walmsley-Bartlett said the Board was sad to see Camden move on, but is excited to see the contributions he will continue to make to regenerate te taiao.

“Camden has embodied a passion for restoring and protecting the natural beauty of our coastline. I would like to thank him for his significant contribution to the charity and we all wish him the greatest of success in the future,” says Walmsley-Bartlett.

Camden and the SC whānau at an event at The Flagship Education Centre

“I’m proud of everything our wonderful whānau has achieved over the years, and I consider myself lucky to have been surrounded by so many brilliant, passionate people along the way,” added Howitt.

“I want to thank our Sustainable Coastlines team, our Board, our unwavering partners and supporters, and our incredible network of volunteers who turn up time and time again. Without you Sustainable Coastlines could not have existed, but with you, I know it will continue to thrive.”

Programme Coordinator

Job Description

Love our coastlines? Want to play a key role in restoring and protecting them? Are you community focused with an epic ability to bring people together towards a shared kaupapa? If you’ve had experience working with community groups and mana whenua and ideally in the environmental space and you are based in Christchurch – you could be just the people we’re looking for.

About Us

Established in April 2009, the Sustainable Coastlines Charitable Trust is a multi award-winning New Zealand charity that exists to connect people to nature and inspire change. Our long-term, shared vision is to restore the mauri for our moana and our mission is to support communities around Aotearoa to prevent litter and restore waterways. We want to see beautiful beaches / oneone kōrekoreko, healthy waters / waiora and inspired people / tāngata whakaohooho. We believe we can be part of a solution, working with local communities,  government and business across Aotearoa and the world.

We deliver and support large-scale coastal clean-up events, educational programmes, public awareness campaigns, catchment-based freshwater restoration and citizen science activities to collect environmental data. We also enable others by supporting ‘Do It Yourself’ efforts and training groups to run their own events.

The Role

We’re looking for a new member of our programmes delivery team to facilitate the rollout of the “on-the-ground” components of the Love Your Water and Love Your Coast programmes, in conjunction with colleagues, to deliver the world-class mahi Sustainable Coastlines is known for.

This position will require specialisation within the Love Your Water space with the expectation that our planting, maintenance and monitoring projects are always working to best practice and are established in collaboration with local community groups and mana whenua.

Working with the support and guidance of our Programme Manager, the purpose of this position is to coordinate and implement waterway restoration projects, with a focus on the Porirua catchment, as well as lead Love Your Coast beach clean-up projects and campaigns across the wider Wellington region. This includes but is not limited to: school education and events, corporate events, sponsor projects, monitoring and evaluation, training and support and training workshops.

There will be an expectation to support other Sustainable Coastlines programmes (such as Litter intelligence programme) when and where necessary, with regular travel between Wellington and Porirua and some travel to other parts of Aotearoa when needed. The position will require you to attend events at weekends a number of times during the year.

Personal Attributes

  • Creativity and strong problem-solving skills with the ability to think on your feet.
  • A growth mindset and a commitment to learning.
  • Level headedness and a good sense of organisation.
  • A commitment to the mission, vision and values of Sustainable Coastlines and a strong connection to the ocean.
  • An enthusiastic interpersonal style that fosters great relationships with colleagues and external partners.
  • Confidence in presenting and talking with large groups and building relationships with a range of stakeholders, including community groups and mana whenua.
  • Ability and desire to travel domestically and be on the road on a regular basis.
  • Initiative to manage workload remotely
  • A commitment to communicating clearly and collaboratively on shared projects and events with close colleague

Skills & Experience

  • Some industry experience and knowledge, with a view to specialising in community-led restoration projects would be preferable.
  • Some understanding of te ao māori and te reo māori.
  • Ability to work within a budget and to do event planning; a proven history of successfully delivering and reporting on community projects within budget constraints.
  • Demonstrated experience in using digital tools for planning, reporting and communicating.
  • Proven success in the planning, and/or delivery of educational activities and programmes.
  • Excellent ability to manage priorities and communicate effectively.

Values Alignment

Our core values at SC are:

Respect indigenous knowledge – We’re committed to being a better collaborator by increasing our understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tikanga, te reo, and te ao māori.

Create the high five effect – We motivate people through passion, fun, positivity and a sense of achievement.

Together is better – We’re caring, collaborative, diverse and inclusive.

Strive for brilliance – We’re curious, tech-enabled people, open to new approaches.

Make waves – We focus on high impact solutions and measurable outcomes.

Come join our awesome whānau to support communities to restore waterways and prevent litter. We need a passionate person who loves our coastlines and cares about the communities around them. Being familiar with te ao and te reo would definitely be a plus. If you want to work in an exciting, inclusive, fast-paced non-profit, with a range of additional benefits then we’d love to hear from you.

How to Apply

Email your CV and cover letter to Rachel: [email protected] by 20 April 2022

Job Category: Environment / Conservation. Job Type: Full-Time. Job Salary: $55,000 – $59,999 • Full time  Closes: 20 April, 2022

Celebrate Kiwi kids taking action to protect our moana this Seaweek

[Press release] Kiwi charity Sustainable Coastlines is raising funds to educate children on ocean restoration.

 

Seaweek is Aotearoa’s annual national week devoted to the ocean, and this year, it’s encouraging Kiwis to ‘connect to the sea’. Heeding the call is environmental charity Sustainable Coastlines, which is raising funds for its school education programme, to continue inspiring tamariki to restore the mauri of our moana. Launching its Double Your Donation campaign, Sustainable Coastlines is encouraging donations during Seaweek, as any donations made between 5 and 13 March will be doubled by supporting businesses. 

Sustainable Coastlines’ Litter Intelligence Programme Manager Shawn Elise Tierney urges ocean lovers to take up the appeal, as the positive impact on our tamariki and our moana will be doubled.

“We hold a great responsibility to educate future generations and inspire them to look after Papatūānuku”, says Shawn Elise, “which is why we developed our Litter Intelligence Education Programme (LIEP) to inspire tamariki to look after their local coastline and inform better decisions for a world without litter.”

One of the most rewarding parts of our education programme, according to Shawn Elise, is hearing the success stories from the field, about Kiwi kids taking action, being innovative and implementing the skills the charity has taught them to make a positive difference. Waiheke’s Te Huruhi School, for example, switched problematic ‘compostable’ single-use cups for reusable ones, after discovering that the ‘eco’ cups used at their school were actually PLA (polylactic acid) lined.

“We need to do more than clean up rubbish on the beach: we need to educate future generations to be part of the solution that prevents rubbish from leaking into the environment in the first place”. LIEP is the education programme that does just that — giving teachers and students skills and capabilities in data collection, environmental monitoring, leadership, problem-solving, citizen science, community engagement, influencing techniques, presentation delivery, storytelling and more.

According to the latest World Ocean Assessment report, the ocean is our biggest ally in mitigating climate change, and understanding our impact on it is the first step to protecting it. Litter Intelligence was created to collect critical data on the impact of litter on our coastlines. “We cannot improve what we do not measure, which is why our Litter Intelligence education programme and associated data is so important. We know that data empowers action and we want to empower our rangatahi with data to take action for the places that are important to them”, says Shawn Elise.

Sustainable Coastlines intern, Nakita, gives a ‘Love Your Coast’ presentation to children from Hobsonville Primary in 2021.

“Thanks to the generous matching donors for our Double Your Donation campaign, we’re well on our way to meet our $20,000 goal, to help fund our educational work”. 

The companies involved are APL, Hirepool, Pit Stop, Hyundai NZ and WaterSmart. They are all New Zealand–owned businesses who understand the urgency in looking after our environment by educating future generations and are putting their money behind this epic cause. 

The funds raised through the Double Your Donation campaign will allow the charity to fund LIEP and continue inspiring groups like Te Iti Kahurangi Kāhui Ako, a community of 10 schools, with varying age groups, in Onehunga that has committed to looking after the local coastline that unites the students along the Manukau Harbour. Or Opoutere School, where LIEP inspired two students to hone in on their shared hobby, skateboarding. The students are now moulding skateboard deck rails out of recycled plastics, and even looking to market their product in the future. And Maraetai Beach School, whose entire environmental group wrote and produced a rap to highlight the pollution problem in Aotearoa. 

“These success stories are truly inspiring, and with your help we can continue motivating our tamariki to take action. So please, help us out this Seaweek — $5, $50, $500, whatever you want to donate helps us to fulfill our mission to connect people to nature and inspire change”, adds Shawn Elise. 

“You can double your donation by donating during Seaweek, and we can double our impact for our moana!”

Programme Coordinator

Job Description

Love our coastlines? Want to play a key role in restoring and protecting them? Are you community focused with an epic ability to bring people together towards a shared kaupapa? If you’ve had experience working with community groups and mana whenua and ideally in the environmental space and you are based in Christchurch – you could be just the people we’re looking for.

About Us

Established in April 2009, the Sustainable Coastlines Charitable Trust is a multi award-winning New Zealand charity that exists to connect people to nature and inspire change. Our long-term, shared vision is to restore the mauri for our moana and our mission is to support communities around Aotearoa to prevent litter and restore waterways. We want to see beautiful beaches / oneone kōrekoreko, healthy waters / waiora and inspired people / tāngata whakaohooho. We believe we can be part of a solution, working with local communities,  government and business across Aotearoa and the world.

We deliver and support large-scale coastal clean-up events, educational programmes, public awareness campaigns, catchment-based freshwater restoration and citizen science activities to collect environmental data. We also enable others by supporting ‘Do It Yourself’ efforts and training groups to run their own events.

The Roles

We’re looking for two new members of our programmes delivery team, with one role based in Christchurch.

The Programme Coordinators will deliver the “on-the-ground” components of the Love Your Water, Love Your Coast and Litter Intelligence programmes, in conjunction with colleagues and community groups, to deliver the world-class mahi Sustainable Coastlines is known for, in terms of programme impacts and funder deliverables.

Working with the support and guidance of our Programme Managers, the purpose of this position is to coordinate and implement waterway restoration projects, as well as beach clean-up projects and campaigns and litter survey and audits. This includes but is not limited to: school education and events, corporate events, sponsor projects, monitoring and evaluation, training and support and training workshops. Success in this role looks like professional and well run programmes with strong community presence & support.

Being the local Sustainable Coastlines representative across our programmes will require you to be a community engagement superstar. Alongside planning, running events and reporting on them, as the key contact person for groups in your area you will deliver training activities with schools & community members, enthusiastically deliver presentations & run engagements with personality, and be confident to speak to the issues core to Sustainable Coastlines to a variety of audiences. You will be able to support data collection in freshwater & litter monitoring, as well as clean-up and planting events.

The work will be at times physical & dirty. You’ll be loading utes with trees or rubbish one day and running a Litter Intelligence training workshop with a corporate group the next. Mixed in with office work, your days will always be variable. You will use your adaptability and flexibility to manage priorities well and you’ll bring creative ideas to the table to integrate across programmes.

As you’ll be working across several programmes, you’ll need to be highly organised and excel at communicating proactively. The Christchurch role will work remotely and report to a manager in Auckland, so a particularly high level of initiative is required here.

The position will require you to attend events at weekends a number of times during the year.

Personal Attributes

  • Creativity and strong problem-solving skills with the ability to think on your feet.
  • A growth mindset and a commitment to learning.
  • Level headedness and a high sense of organisation and initiative.
  • A commitment to the mission, vision and values of Sustainable Coastlines and a strong connection to the ocean.
  • An enthusiastic interpersonal style that fosters great relationships with colleagues and external partners.
  • Confidence in presenting/public speaking with large groups
  • Ability to build great relationships with a range of stakeholders, including community groups and mana whenua.
  • Ability and desire to travel domestically and be on the road on a regular basis, including weekends.
  • Reasonable level of fitness to do demanding physical work

Skills & Experience

  • Some industry experience and knowledge, with a view to specialising in community led restoration projects.
  • A good understanding of te ao Māori and te reo.
  • Ability to manage budgets and event planning; a proven history of successfully delivering and reporting on community projects within budget constraints.
  • Strong writing and communication skills.
  • Demonstrated experience in using digital tools for planning, reporting and communicating.
  • Proven success in the planning, and/or delivery of educational activities and programmes, including managing of events logistics
  • Excellent ability to manage priorities

Values Alignment

Our core values at SC are:

Respect indigenous knowledge – We’re committed to being a better collaborator by increasing our understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tikanga, te reo, and te ao māori.

Create the high five effect – We motivate people through passion, fun, positivity and a sense of achievement.

Together is better – We’re caring, collaborative, diverse and inclusive.

Strive for brilliance – We’re curious, tech-enabled people, open to new approaches.

Make waves – We focus on high impact solutions and measurable outcomes.

Come join our whānau to support communities to restore waterways and prevent litter. We need a passionate person who loves our coastlines and cares about the communities around them. Being familiar with te ao and te reo would definitely be a plus. If you want to work in an exciting, inclusive, fast-paced non-profit, then we’d love to hear from you.

How to Apply

Email your CV and cover letter to Maurine Talpin: [email protected] by 25 September 2021.

Job Category: Environment / Conservation. Job Type: Full-Time. Job Salary: $50,000–$60,000. Closes September 21, 2021

Programme Manager

Job Description

Love our coastlines? Want to play a key role in restoring and protecting them? Are you community focused with an epic ability to bring people together towards a shared kaupapa? If you’ve had experience managing large scale events and motivating a high performing team in the environmental space – you could be the passionate person we’re looking for!

About Us

Established in April 2009, the Sustainable Coastlines Charitable Trust is a multi award-winning New Zealand charity that exists to connect people to nature and inspire change. Our long-term, shared vision is to restore the mauri for our moana and our mission is to support communities around Aotearoa to prevent litter and restore waterways. We want to see beautiful beaches / oneone kōrekoreko, healthy waters / waiora and inspired people / tāngata whakaohooho. We believe we can be part of the solution, working with local communities,  government and business across Aotearoa and the world.

The Role

We’re looking for a new member of our Operations team to manage the planning and delivery of the “on-the-ground” components of our Love Your Coast programme, in order to deliver the award winning mahi Sustainable Coastlines is known for.

The Love Your Coast (LYC) Programme Manager will lead the implementation of the Love Your Coast programme strategy. They will focus on the planning, continuous improvement and execution of the “on-the-ground” components of the Love Your Coast programme, in conjunction with direct reports, to deliver this world-class programme.

Working with the support and guidance of our People & Operations Director, and with strategic direction from our Programmes Director, the purpose of this position is to coordinate and implement significant beach clean-up projects, environmental education and campaigns across Aotearoa. This includes but is not limited to: school education and events, corporate events, sponsor projects, public events, monitoring and evaluation, training and support.

This position will also involve managing an evolving team of Sustainable Coastlines Employees, Volunteers and Interns to effectively deliver our core programmes and closely collaborating with the Love Your Water and Litter Intelligence Programme Managers, whilst also managing internal relationships with other teams, such as funding, partnerships and communications. The LYC Programme Manager will oversee the management and growth of our highly accomplished staff and be responsible for supporting them to achieve their own performance goals.

Personal Attributes

  • Creativity and strong problem-solving skills with the ability to think on your feet
  • Highly organised
  • Keen and fast learner
  • Empathy and great communication skills
  • Knowledge of tikanga Māori and at least basic te reo Māori desirable
  • A commitment to the mission, vision and values of Sustainable Coastlines
  • Ability and desire to travel domestically and be on the road on an occasional basis


Skills & Experience

  • A strong connection to the ocean and understanding of water and ocean related issues, either professionally or otherwise
  • Strong writing and communication skills
  • Experience in managing and nurturing a team and creating a positive and supportive team culture
  • Ability to manage money; a proven history of successfully completing and documenting projects within budget constraints
  • Proven success in the planning, implementation, and completion of large scale events, ideally with previous experience in environmental or outdoor activities
  • Proven success in the planning, implementing and completion of educational activities and programmes
  • Confidence in presenting and talking with large groups and building relationships with a range of stakeholders, including community groups and mana whenua
  • Strong industry experience and knowledge, ideally in Community Engagement and/or Environmental Sustainability
  • Demonstrated ability to develop effective and meaningful external relationships
  • Proven ability to manage time, money, resources and priorities to successfully achieve projects’ outcomes

Values Alignment

Our core values are:

  • Respect indigenous knowledge – We’re committed to being a better collaborator by increasing our understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tikanga, te reo, and te ao māori.
  • Create the high five effect – We motivate people through passion, fun, positivity and a sense of achievement.
  • Together is better – We’re caring, collaborative, diverse and inclusive.
  • Strive for brilliance – We’re curious, tech-enabled people, open to new approaches.
  • Make waves – We focus on high impact solutions and measurable outcomes.

Come join our whānau to connect people to nature and inspire change. If you want to work in an exciting, inclusive, fast-paced non-profit, then we’d love to hear from you.

How to Apply

Email your CV and cover letter to Maurine Talpin:
[email protected] by 31 August.

 

Job Category: Environment / Conservation. Job Type: Full-Time. Job Salary: $70,000 – 74,999. Closes 31 August, 2021

Programme Coordinator

Job Description

Love our coastlines? Want to play a key role in restoring and protecting them? Are you community focused with an epic ability to bring people together towards a shared kaupapa? If you’ve had experience working with community groups and mana whenua and ideally waterway restoration – you could be just the person we’re looking for. 

About Us

Established in April 2009, the Sustainable Coastlines Charitable Trust is a multi award-winning New Zealand charity that exists to connect people to nature and inspire change. Our long-term, shared vision is to restore the mauri for our moana and our mission is to support communities around Aotearoa to prevent litter and restore waterways. We want to see beautiful beaches / oneone kōrekoreko, healthy waters / waiora and inspired people / tāngata whakaohooho. We believe we can be part of a solution, working with local communities,  government and business across Aotearoa and the world.

The Role

We’re looking for a new member of our programmes delivery team to facilitate the rollout of the “on-the-ground” components of the Love Your Water and Love Your Coast programmes, in conjunction with colleagues, to deliver the world-class mahi Sustainable Coastlines is known for. 

This position will require specialisation within the Love Your Water space with the expectation that our planting, maintenance and monitoring projects are always working to best practice and are established in collaboration with local community groups and mana whenua. 

Working with the support and guidance of our Programmes Manager, the purpose of this position is to coordinate and implement waterway restoration projects, with a focus on the Porirua catchment, as well as beach clean-up projects and campaigns. This includes but is not limited to: school education and events, corporate events, sponsor projects, monitoring and evaluation, training and support and training workshops.

Come join our whānau to support communities to restore waterways and prevent litter. We need a passionate person who loves our coastlines and cares about the communities around them. Being familiar with te ao and te reo would definitely be a plus. If you want to work in an exciting, inclusive, fast-paced non-profit, then we’d love to hear from you.

How to Apply

Email your CV and cover letter to Dan Downing: [email protected] by 14 July 2021.

Job Category: Environment / Conservation. Job Type: Full-Time. Job Salary: 40,000 – 60,000.
Closes July 14, 2021

People have never been more concerned about the plight of our ocean, and sadly, they’re right to be worried — our moana needs our help. Award-winning charity Sustainable Coastlines led an expedition to some of Aotearoa’s most remote beaches to reveal the shocking state of our plastic pollution problem. In light of the findings, it is calling on all Kiwis to take action this World Ocean Day, on Tuesday, 8 June.

World Ocean Day is about coming together to honour and celebrate our shared moana, with a special emphasis on education and awareness. Globally an estimated 11 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the ocean every year, and without urgent action, that amount will nearly triple by 2040. 

Unfortunately, New Zealand’s coastlines do not escape the plastic problem. Sustainable Coastlines was able to quantify litter density at some of New Zealand’s most remote beaches, during an expedition in Fiordland last week. The team were there to set-up survey sites as part of its nationwide litter monitoring programme, Litter Intelligence. In only ten 100 metre stretches of shore, the charity removed 1,586 items totalling nearly half a tonne, 93% of which were made of plastic.

“Despite the isolation, the number-one item found was consistent with the top offender across over 200 survey sites nationwide: Hard plastic fragments. Plastic fragments are ubiquitous in our marine environment due to our addiction to plastic products, and mismanagement of them before, during and after their useful lives,” says Sustainable Coastlines Co-Founder Camden Howitt.

Significant numbers of consumer plastics were found, with plastic bottles the second most common item on Fiordland coastlines, at over 30 times the national average. Large quantities of fisheries-related debris were also washed up, again at levels over 30 times the national average. At 93%, the proportion of plastics found was far higher than the 75% national average — a reminder of the longevity of plastics and their propensity to move long distances on ocean currents.

“Many Kiwis would expect Fiordland’s coastlines to be 100% pure, to be as pristine as they should be,” says Howitt. “Instead these remote spots provide key insights into what the problem would look like nationwide without local action.” Everyday, caring Kiwis walk their local stretch of coastline and do their bit to clean-up. Even in Fiordland, stretches of the coast are cleaned up annually by the Southern Coastal Charitable Trust, who helped Sustainable Coastlines to identify accessible beaches.This is encouraging, but more mahi is needed to cut off the problem at the source by avoiding single-use plastics and preventing plastics from entering our oceans. 

The good news is, the needle is shifting on public attitudes towards waste. According to Colmar Brunton’s Better Futures 2021 report, out of the top ten concerns for Kiwis, three revolve around plastic, waste and landfill. These are clearly common concerns for Kiwis, and through Sustainable Coastlines programmes people can connect with these issues, roll up their sleeves, and do something about it. Howitt calls on Kiwis to do their bit to protect the places they love: “Take action for our moana this World Ocean Day. Change one habit, one behaviour, or one product from your everyday life and reduce your plastic footprint.”

The Fiordland clean-up and survey expedition is part of an ongoing effort established through initial funding from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund, to gain an accurate picture of litter across Aotearoa to help optimise and scale solutions. “We believe that we cannot manage what we do not measure, and this programme provides evidence to inspire data-driven decision-making at all levels to solve our plastic problem,” says Howitt. For full results from the Fiordland litter surveys, and from over 200 other sites around Aotearoa, visit litterintelligence.org

 

At the end of 2020 the Sustainable Coastlines team farewelled team-member and friend Fletcher Sunde. He’s done everything from coordinating large-scale events and inspiring youngsters in schools to fixing loose planks at the Flagship and working on Litter Intelligence in its early days. This year, in his role as operations director, he’s helped to keep our waka afloat through turbulent waters. Fletch’s contribution to SC has been invaluable.

We’re sad to say goodbye to Fletch, who has been a well-known face of our organisation for more than four years. His ability to build close relationships with the community and his great leadership skills are truly valued. Fletcher’s presence of mind in even the most stressful situation is a skillset he’s shared with the team through his introduction of Wellness Wednesdays. We’ll miss his calming presence and sarcastic wit.

Fletcher is leaving to pursue his dreams and sail off into the sunset on the yacht he’s been restoring for the last four years. Luckily for us, he’s already agreed to stay on as part-time Flagship handyman — it seems like we’re a difficult organisation to shake off!

Best wishes and fine winds, Fletch.

Operations Director

Job Description

Love our coastlines? Want to play a key role in protecting and regenerating them? Are you an organisational guru who ensures balls aren’t dropped and delivery happens on time every time? Would you like to be the nurturer of culture and people development within our organisation? Do you have fantastic interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence up the wazoo and an ability to think expansively while managing important details in the here and now? This is the job you’ve been waiting for!

Sustainable Coastlines is a multi-award winning, strictly-a-political New Zealand charity, established in April 2009. We have a proud history of successfully designing and executing large scale, environmental programmes across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Since establishment, we have educated over 220,000 people, motivated more than 100,000 volunteers to remove over 1.6 million litres of rubbish from our coastlines., and we have planted over 200,000 trees to clean up our waterways.

We’re looking for a new member of our leadership team to head our operations whanau. Reporting into the CEO, you will also ensure that we have the frameworks and processes in place to maximise productivity across the organisation. You will ensure the Flagship Education Centre is an exemplar of sustainability for others to follow and the heart of our organisation, enabling the delivery of our programmes, education, training and events. These core responsibilities will empower the charity to effectively deliver on its purpose, increase its impact and ensure the financial sustainability and future growth of the organisation.

Come join our mission for “Beautiful Beaches, Healthy Waters and Inspired People.” We need a passionate person who loves our coastlines and cares about the communities around them. If you want to work in an exciting, fast-paced non-profit, then we’d love to hear from you.

How to Apply

Email your CV and cover letter to Josh Borthwick: [email protected], by 13 December 2020

Job Category: Environment / Conservation. Job Type: Full-Time. Job Salary: 80,000 – 100,000.