BLGENVIRONMENTAL.COM 407.702.7905
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
P.O. BOX 521090 ● LONGWOOD, FL 32752
Schedule a Free Design Consultation with Robert Burns
WE MAKE YOUR OUTDOOR AREAS BEAUTIFUL
1
Recharging Our Batteries
2
Enhance Your Outdoor Oasis With an FNGLA-Certified Designer Ella and Juliet’s Precious Bond
3
The Good News Hear From Our Clients Take a Break!
4
How One Teenager’s Idea Sparked a Global Cleanup Movement
SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT LADYBUGS GARDEN GUARDIANS BOYAN SLAT’S INSPIRING JOURNEY TO CLEAN OUR SEAS TEEN TURNS THE TIDE ON OCEAN TRASH
Have you ever heard about the teenager who decided to clean the ocean? Meet Boyan Slat, the eco-warrior who founded The Ocean Cleanup at 18. His story of innovation and determination shows how one big idea can make waves worldwide. Boyan’s journey began unexpectedly at 16 during a scuba diving trip in Greece. Instead of marveling at exotic marine life, he was shocked to find more plastic floating around than fish. This unsettling experience sparked a burning question in his young mind: “Why don’t we just clean it up?” That question didn’t disappear with the ocean currents; it followed him home to Delft, the Netherlands, and propelled him into action. Turning his curiosity into a high school science project, Boyan faced countless reasons why cleaning the ocean was “impossible.” Not satisfied with just understanding the problem, he started experimenting with solutions. He envisioned a passive system that would use the ocean currents to gather plastic on its own — essentially, setting a trap for the plastic to come to him rather than chasing after it.
After presenting his initial ideas at a conference in 2012 and barely scratching the surface of his aerospace engineering studies at TU Delft, Boyan decided to go further. With just 300 euros of savings and a sea of passion, he founded The Ocean Cleanup and dropped out of school. The big break came when his video talk went viral overnight, raised $90,000 through crowdfunding, and recruited a motivated team. By April 2013, Boyan launched his first Indiegogo campaign with a spirit that matched the ocean’s vastness: “I don’t know if it’s possible, and that’s exactly the reason I’m doing it.” Fast-forward to 2023, and The Ocean Cleanup has removed an astonishing 5.4 million pounds of trash from the ocean and even turned some of that recovered plastic into 25,000 pairs of sunglasses! So, next time you think you’re too young or your ideas are too ambitious, just remember Boyan Slat and his ocean-cleaning dream. It’s a reminder that sometimes, you just need to set a wide net to catch a big dream. And who knows? You might just clean up a whole ocean along the way.
4
LANDSCAPE - HARDSCAPE - IRRIGATION - OUTDOOR LIGHTING
407.702.7905
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator