ILENIA
Ilenia is a 31-year-old Italian, who has spent the last eight years in Denmark. A child of the sea, winter bather and a paddleboarder, Ilenia talks to us about her connection to the ocean and the life experiences that shaped her.
A WATER CREATURE DEEPLY CONNECTED TO THE SEA
Ilenia has spent most of her life close to the sea. Coming from beautiful Sardinia, water and the ocean is in her DNA, and snorkelling and swimming have been a big part of her childhood. As she tells us, Sardinia has approx. 2,000km of coastline, with numerous communities of surfers, many fishing villages and six marine natural reserves.
After having moved to the cold north, her hobbies needed to shift a little bit! She opted for winter bathing and paddleboarding in Danish waters - something that drew her attention to the amount of trash there is onshore and in the water.
“The one thing I love the most is picking up trash while paddleboarding in Copenhagen’s canals, even in the winter. There’s literally not one time that I come back home from the sea without trash in my pockets!”
REDUCING POLLUTION AND THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Ilenia tells us, that “it really doesn’t take much effort” to collect trash or talk to people about the consequences of pollution. As she puts it, “one small gesture can help tons”, and that is a message that a lot of people understand and can connect to.
Our Ocean Hero adds that another problem she is concerned with is coastal erosion and the human activity in coastal zones. Some of the effects of climate change are now so evident during her visits back home, with sea creatures looking different, or rarely seeing fish and seaweed. With her family, and especially her grandparents, showing her early on how important it is to respect nature and be able to give back to it, saving the ocean became her mission.
“Unfortunately, the damage that has been done in only 30 years is so compelling that cannot go unnoticed. I wish that restoration is fast enough for future generations to enjoy what I was able to not too long ago.”
THE OCEAN IN HER LIFE AND IN HERSELF
Ilenia deeply feels that the ocean gives her balance, brings her back to her truest self and gives her peace and purpose. Her happiest ocean memory goes back to her summers in Sardinia, spending time with her family camping by the sea, making rafts out of reeds, and seeing turtles, starfish, sea urchins and dolphins while snorkelling.
“The ocean is my playground and the best medicine for anything.”
She would like to thank the ocean for the connection that it gave her to nature, and for making her more grounded - taking examples from it, and knowing when it is time to fear, challenge, relax or enjoy the moment.
Ilenia’s ocean heroes are the ones closest to her. Coming from a circle of surfers and fishermen, who truly respect and worship the ocean, it is her close family and friends who inspire her to take action to save it. Growing up watching documentaries by Cousteau, has also made her more conscious of the power of the ocean - she even had the pleasure and opportunity just recently to host Ashlan and Philippe Cousteau in an event!
#TAVAHA
To Ilenia, #Tavaha means the world. “The ocean takes care of our wellbeing. It gives me that peace of mind that nothing else can give me. Protecting it is the least we could do for it as it gives us so much.”
Her #tavahatips are:
If you see trash, pick it up!
Bring your trash back home with you, leave the place as you find it!
Every occasion is a good occasion, make it into a ‘fun day’ and involve your friends :) For example, Ilenia is organising a beach cleanup as a teambuilding activity with her colleagues.
Bonus tip: switch to reusable items and go plastic-free - Ilenia has switched to bamboo toothbrushes, shampoo bars, laundry soap nuts etc. “The least trash we produce, the least it ends up in the ocean.”