La sfida del progetto Hudson di Elizabeth Carr (Lizzie Outside). Lizzie ha percorso il fiume Hudson di New York per contrastare l’inquinamento plastico: 275 km in 8 giorni!
Dopo aver superato una battaglia con il cancro nel 2015, Lizzie è diventata la prima persona nella storia a remare per la lunghezza dell’Inghilterra da sola e senza supporto, e nel 2017 è diventata la prima donna ad attraversare in solitaria con il SUP il Canale della Manica – un’altra prima mondiale. Il 6 settembre Lizzie è partita da Albany, nello stato di New York per la sua nuova sfida.
Lizzie, che ha fondato l’iniziativa Plastic Patrol all’inizio di quest’anno – un programma di volontariato guidato dalla comunità che aiuta a ripulire le vie navigabili interne da paddleboard – invita anche le persone a unirsi a lei lungo l’Hudson in una serie di operazioni di pulizia in collaborazione con Riverkeeper e Hudson River Park Trust e supportato da REN Skincare.
Websites:
www.lizzieoutside.co.uk
www.plasticpatrol.co.uk
Instagram @lizzie_outside / @Plastic_Patrol
Twitter @LizzieOutside / @Plastic_Patrol
Facebook @LizzieOutside/ @PlasticPatrolOfficial
British environmentalist set to paddle the length of New York’s Hudson River to tackle plastic pollution
1 Woman. 8 Days. 275 kilometres
British Environmentalist and adventurer, Lizzie Carr, is embarking on the challenge of a lifetime: to successfully travel the length of the Hudson River using entirely human powered means – a paddle board.
The eight-‐day feat of endurance comes with an important environmental purpose – to highlight the issue of plastic pollution, ocean health and its role in climate change through a series of scientific sampling and community outreach initiatives on her route.
On 6th September Lizzie will leave Albany, New York State – the start of the tidal river -‐ and take the first strokes of this 275km (170 mile) journey that will see her paddle for more than one week consecutively – almost a marathon a day – to cover the distance. She will be carrying 20kg of equipment on her paddleboard, including a tent and supplies along the river.
Lizzie is no stranger to a challenge. After overcoming a battle with cancer in 2015, she became the first person in history to paddle board the length of England solo and unsupported a year later, and in 2017 became the first woman to solo paddle board across the English Channel -‐ another world first.
Photo credit: Andy Hargraves
She says, “America is one of the world’s biggest consumers of single use plastic with 80 per cent of it being used only once before it’s thrown away. This is a man-‐made problem and can be stopped by people and businesses thinking and acting more responsibly. 80 percent of marine debris starts from inland sources -‐ including rivers like the Hudson – before it eventually flows out to the ocean. By addressing the problem of plastic pollution from its source we can tackle a global crisis effectively. I want my journey along the Hudson to motivate people to take action, so together, we can make a real difference to resolve the global problem of plastics choking our seas.”
Lizzie will be collecting water samples for micro plastic analysis and testing the latest Smartfin technology fitted with sensors that measure multiple ocean and riverine parameters including temperature, location, and water motion characteristics; helping to create a baseline for understanding riverine trends and ocean warming indicators.
The Londoner, who founded the Plastic Patrol initiative earlier this year-‐ a community driven volunteer scheme helping to clean up inland waterways by paddleboard -‐ is also inviting people to join her along the Hudson in a series of beach clean-‐up operations in in partnership with Riverkeeper and Hudson River Park Trust and supported by REN Skincare, taking place on:
- Sunday, September 9th, 3:30-‐5:30, Kaal Rock Park in Poughkeepsie
- Wednesday, September 12th, 5:30-‐7:00, Croton Point Park in Croton-‐on-‐the-‐Hudson
- Friday, September 14th, 5:30-‐6:30, Pier 26 Hudson River Park, NY
There are FREE paddleboard taster sessions at each clean up and people are encouraged to sign up for a spot here: lizzieoutside.co.uk/clean-‐ups/
Lizzie’s epic challenge will culminate on the 15th September when she paddles through New York City and joins the APP World Tour to race to the final destination on her route – the Statue of Liberty – ending her adventure with purpose.
Having operated a series of successful plastic clean-‐up operations throughout the UK this summer and removing more than 80 tons of waste from waterways, Lizzie explains, “It’s through community efforts and people driven initiatives like Plastic Patrol that we are able to build an evidence base for accountability of perpetrating brands and bring about meaningful change. My mission for this challenge is to create a legacy that empowers individuals and communities to tackle plastic pollution head on and believe that their individuals actions, no matter how small, make a difference.”
All participants of the beach cleans will geo tag the plastic waste collected via the Plastic Patrol app to add to a growing global database. To date, the app houses crowdsourced uploads from 14 countries worldwide and shows more than 50,000 examples of global plastic hotspots and can be download for anyone to catalogue plastic waste.
Lizzie says, “My overall aim is to rid the world of single use plastic. The waterways should be a natural playground, not a dumping ground. I’m bringing my mission to America, as one of the worst offending nations when it comes to plastic pollution, to encourage people in the US and globally to take positive action in the fight to save the future of our planet.”
Follow Lizzie’s journey via the hashtags #plasticpatrol #savethefuture #thehudsonproject and in real time via a live tracker at: lizzieoutside.co.uk/live-‐tracker/.
Notes to Editors:
ABOUT PLASTIC PATROL
#PlasticPatrol was founded in 2016 by Lizzie Carr following her record-‐breaking paddle boarding exploits through Britain’s inland waterways, where she tracked more than 3000 examples of plastic waste in 22 days.
Regular #PlasticPatrol clean up events now operate through the UK on a regular basis, with the app used globally, geo-‐tagging plastic pollution and identifying pressure points around the world.
As part of the journey, Lizzie is creating a short documentary film ‘The Hudson Project’ that will be distributed globally in 2019, spreading further awareness that people can effect positive change in the battle against plastic pollution by taking action.
ABOUT REN Skincare | Headline sponsor From the outset, REN Clean Skincare has challenged skincare convention. From our inception in East London in 2000 we pioneered Clean Skincare, a smarter skincare which delivers high performance visible results whilst scrupulously avoiding any skin unfriendly, toxic ingredients. By saying yes to Natural Bio-‐actives that help skin help itself, no to harsh chemicals and no to waste, REN Clean Skincare is Clean to skin, Clean to Planet. We are truly committed to finding new ways of improving our positive impact on the world we all share. @renkincare #cleantoskin #cleantoplanet www.renskincare.com
OTHER PARTNERS: APP World Tour -‐ the New York City leg of the 2018 World Championship Tour will take place on the 15th September at North Cove Marina in front of Brookfield Place, in conjunction with the broader, all inclusive City Paddle Festival event with action on and off the water for all ages -‐ go to www.newyorksupopen.com for moire information. Smartfin: www.smartfin.org Riverkeeper: www.riverkeeper.org Hudson River Parks Trust: www.hudsonriverpark.org
Useful links
Websites: www.lizzieoutside.co.uk www.plasticpatrol.co.uk Instagram @lizzie_outside / @Plastic_Patrol Twitter @LizzieOutside / @Plastic_Patrol Facebook @LizzieOutside/ @PlasticPatrolOfficial