Ocean Hero of the Month - Tina Mygind Nordtop Jørgensen

Tina coordinates clean-up events for locals along the shores of Vejle Fjord, Denmark. Because of her dedication, she recently received a grant from the EPA. Tina offers foolproof and practical tips for anyone, like remember to always bring gloves and a bag to the beach with you. She gets inspired by showing her children the wonders of the ocean as well as seeing other people dedicated to small, selfless acts of service.

Can you give us a quick introduction to yourself?

I am a fulltime working mom and in the last couple of years I have been more conscious about the climate changes that is happening around us. I have a rising interest in doing as much as possible to change my way of living and helping in cleaning up the nature and the oceans. For example, when I go for a walk with my family, we always collect some of the trash lying around everywhere, on land and in the ocean.

In the past year, I have coordinated some clean-up events along the shores close to where I live. At the same time, I am in the process of changing my way of living by making conscious choices of what I do and buy, to reduce my footprint and reuse as much as possible.

What role does the ocean play in your life?

I think the ocean play an important role in everyone’s life, since it is part of a greater balance. The oceans are life giving and I try to teach my children this. It gives me peace in stressful situations, and I gain a lot of positive energy when I do activities in or on the water.

I feel the ocean has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’ve always felt a special connection to the water. When I was four years old, I started swimming and eventually became an elite swimmer. In my twenties, I started diving and became a dive instructor and in the last six years, I have learned to sail a yacht and now I am working as a volunteer instructor.

What do you think is the biggest challenge we have to solve in order to take care of the ocean?

I think one of the biggest challenges will be to unite everyone and every country and move from a society where profit is the main target of measuring success, to a sustainable and reusable way of living, where people are more equal and have the same opportunities.

This will not only save the oceans, but also help solve other problems we are facing, related to this. At the same time, we need to find one or more ways to clean the environment of all the consumption waste we have created.

Who are your everyday heroes?

People who for unselfish reason give a helping hand with big and small - especially in relation to taking responsibility for nature and the oceans and for caring about other people.

What is your happiest ocean memory? What would you like to thank the ocean for?

There are many to choose from, but I recently went to the Great Barrier Reef, where I had 2 days of snorkeling with my family. To see my children being curious about the ocean and its animals, even the more dangerous ones, was a great experience. I would like to thank the oceans for giving me many good memories and some of the greatest experiences in my life.

We are truly inspired by Tinas ways! Because of the coronavirus outbreak, however, we are staying safe and temporarily postponing all of our ocean cleanup events. Instead you can keep updated on our Facebook and Instagram where we will post tavaha tips during the quarantine <3