"Allbeaches" is an environmental initiative that connects the world and is possible only in Japan
Hello, my name is Fumika Mabuchi.
This may be a bit sudden, but have you heard of "Allbeaches"?
This is a community that started last year to tackle the problem of marine plastic.
There are many organizations and events that engage in beach cleanups, but what makes All Beaches unique is that they form teams for each beach and not only clean the beach, but also hold fun study sessions to learn about global environmental issues together with their peers, encourage member interaction, and take the lead in activities.
I first learned about this community through Kana Sato, CEO of Bake A Cake, the company that runs it.
I met Kana in 2020 when I participated in a social media project for "sunny U," the towel brand that Kana produces.
Kana used to work for a toy manufacturer, but one day she saw a photo of an albatross that had died after eating one of the toys the manufacturer was making. This made her begin to think that although she was working for "children's dreams," in reality she was taking nature away from children's future. This led her to start participating in beach clean-ups and picking up trash when she went to the beach.
The first All Beaches team was formed in Yuigahama in May 2021, and it was planned to meet once a month. However, due to the state of emergency declaration and priority measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they were unable to meet and work for several months after the team was formed.
During that time, whenever the members visited the beach, they would individually do beach clean-ups.
Then, in November, when the COVID-19 situation had calmed down a bit, they decided to resume their activities and hold an upcycling workshop!
I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know the word "upcycling."
It's about "upgrading waste that would otherwise be thrown away and giving it new life by turning it into a new product."
When I asked them about their main activities, they told me that they start by cleaning the beach for an hour in the morning.
Afterwards, we moved to Webase Kamakura, located just a short distance from Yuigahama Beach, where we made accessories using the marine plastic waste and shells we had picked up, and the children combined them with paintings to create art on small canvases.
Colorful plastic trash picked up during the beach cleanup was transformed into Christmas tree decorations.
And finally, we will have a study session with guests.
This time the workshop was limited to members only, but in the future they would like to make it an event that a wider range of people can participate in, depending on the situation.
All Beaches' current activities are held on the first Saturday of every month.
Normally, they clean up the beach together and then, once it has been restored to its original beauty, they hold yoga classes or study sessions on the beach.
It seems that activities are generally centered around teams, but if you are interested you can also participate.
If you are interested in finding out more about workshops, which are held irregularly, please contact us via social media.
When I learned about the activities of "Allbeaches," an organization that allows people to learn about the global environment in a fun way together with their friends, I started thinking about what I could do, and so I began picking up trash when going for walks with my son.
Why not try to find something you can do close to home?
"Allbeaches"
Note
https://note.com/allbeaches
