In 1997 I was on holiday in SE Asia – I took a train & a boat from Bangkok, Thailand through Malaysia then onto Indonesia to visit the rainforest island of Sumatra. This is one of the only places in the World you can see Orangutangs in the wild – Orangutang means ‘man of the jungle’.
To get to Orangutangs I had to travel through rainforest by minibus-taxi as there were no trains or buses & hardly any roads. The roads were just muddy bumpy tracks which was really uncomfortable & slow, so slow it took all day to get there. Sadly there was hardly any rainforest left as as logging companies had been chopping down the trees. Before travelling I had heard about deforestation on the news but I had never imagined what it would actually be like as it was one of those problems that happens ‘over-there’ on the other side of the world. It was disappointing as the rainforest was not what I had imagined but it was lifeless place
We stopped at a roadside cafe where I ordered fish. The fish was no bigger than a pet goldfish and did not fill me up. Food was scarce in this place, even for humans, so you can imagine how bad it must’ve been for the animals. The trip started to get scary when we drove across a bridge made out of two logs only just big enough for our skilful driver to cross.
Eventually we made it to Bukit Lawang a place that means ‘gateway to the hills’. Here the forest was still intact & there was a wildlife rescue centre. Orphaned or captive Orangutangs were being released into the wild but they were still closely monitored by park rangers. We took a trip into the hills to a feeding platform with one of the rangers. On our way the ranger told us to keep hold of our bags & be careful not to interact with the Orangutangs – as although they were used to humans the purpose of the centre was encourage them to be independent.
The Orangutangs came swinging through the treetops to the feeding platform. However the biggest one arrived on foot & walked right through the middle of our group. She was huge so everybody stepped back & got out of the way. She stole someones rucksack and took it straight-up the top of the trees. Now, the ranger carries bananas in his rucksack which is why he told us to be careful of our bags – the apes think we ALL carry food for them! The ape examined the bag as we watched in awe – then she ripped that bag apart as if it was a piece of paper. That poor persons belongings just fell from the treetop like confetti.
On the way back down the hills I turned a corner & was met by an infant Orangutang who stood on the path in front of me. As I looked down the child Orangutang looked-up & we gazed into each others eyes. It was only for a second or two but that moment will live with me forever as it was just like coming face to face with a lonely human child! It felt perfectly natural to hold out my hand & walk with that ape but I remembered what I had been told & stood still not making a sound.
That was my ‘whirlwind moment’ the moment I became an environmentalist. When I realised how important it is to protect the natural world and not destroy it.
Many years later I heard about a floating island of plastic waste in the ocean and it reminded me of that experience I had in the rainforest. That was the moment I became an activist because I decided to do something about it in my local community. I organised film-screenings with the help of this school and others to raise awareness & promote solutions to the ocean plastic crisis. Films are a great way to motivate people as they are much more interesting than boring old me. Film-makers can travel around the world bringing stories to life. They can make you feel good or sad, they can include great visuals, music & lot’s of different points of view for maximum impact. I ‘toured’ Dorset with the movie Plastic Ocean showing it to over 600 people. The follow-up to this was a film about sea turtles & balloons called Rubber Jellyfish. How many of you have heard about this?
You see plastic waste including balloons floats in the sea & looks like food for poor innocent creatures who live there. Some birds can’t fly because they are so full of plastic & turtles can’t dive down to eat or avoid being eaten for the same reason.
So that was my journey into environmental activism – what’s yours? I am here today to inspire you all to be eco-warriors or activists in your community. You do not have to travel the world or become a scientist to get started you can start today DREAM BIG KID KID DREAM BIG ! !
Presentation Slides for this talk
Totally Retro Wedding Festival & Party DJ that's Ecotainment! 