Giving Something Back

Putting something back into the natural environment we all make our livings from ,either directly or indirectly, is the right thing to do, and we all know this is true! How many of us actually do though?

With our busy lives with work and family it is not always possible even when we want to. Well, now is your opportunity to put something back into the Balearic Sea without taking up too much of your time.

 

Asociación Ondine has established itself as Mallorca´s fastest growing marine conservation organization and the momentum our committed team is working at increases everyday. The size of our team has also increased over the past few months, it really is an amazing evolution to be part of. 

Our first official project, The Mallorca Stingray Survey, is not only proving to be a successful project in regards to the science side but also with the ever increasing interest from locals and tourists alike. We receive texts, emails and calls from excited people around the Balearics when they come across a stingray, it is amazing how many people this project has touched. The public awareness is working and working well. Not forgetting the €36000 this project has generated for the Island. This money was kindly donated by one family, Stefan and Irina Hearst you two have kick-started marine conservation here in the Balearic Islands. Thank you!

We are now in the planning stage for Mallorca Stingray Survey phase 2, which will include tagging and monitoring the movement patterns of the common stingrays around same area we are now studying. 

You can see a little more about our future projects on our website and also in the insert in this months Islander. Our future projects are all ambitious but very much achievable, beneficial for the Balearic Islands and more importantly beneficial for you, boat owners, fishermen, divers, snorkelers, crew members and all the other lucky people that spend time on or in the sea.

October is our month for promoting new members and also our wish list, like any other NGO Asociación Ondine needs support from the community to continue our work. We have been creative in our design and structure of memberships so as we can give our new members the best value for money possible, its not a simple donation, our members receive goods and services for joining us. One of the other huge benefits, particularly for nautical businesses, is attaching yourselves to a lean green conservation machine is a wonderful thing for your public image. Even though we are in Spain where conservation is still not common practice, many businesses on the islands deal with international clients, hence showing our clients we have an environmental conscience boosts our credibility in this day and age of environmental concern. 

Our members and sponsors also have the ability to voice their concerns to our team, meaning if there are local issues you would like to see dealt with we can sit and discuss what kind of solutions there might be. Which is a great way for local businesses, boats and individuals to instigate new research or conservation actions. Its all about bringing us closer together with the view of benefiting local marine ecosystems, businesses and our understanding of the sea.

What are you waiting for? Join us today!!

We have Planet Space as gold members, as well as that they have offered Asociacion Ondine free storage of our wish list goods. Our new T-shirts have been provided by another Gold member company, Deckers Uniforms and Marexi Marine technologies are on board as well. The ball is rolling!

What is our Wish List? This is another way that the nautical industry can assist with marine conservation and research here in the Balearics, simply by donating what was going to be thrown away anyway. It is a variety of goods that we can use to conduct some of our projects and even inspire new projects to be created, its an ambitious list which includes an ocean going research vessel, something I don’t expect owners to give us, but who knows, maybe there is an owner out there that wants to help us find and tag migrating basking sharks or even go to the extreme of become the first group of people in the world to find and tag a Great White Shark in the Mediterranean! Like I said our plans are ambitious but most definitely achievable! Why am I so confident? There are a few reasons for this, the first reason is the quality and commitment of our direct team, and here they are…

 

Gabriel Morey (Spain, Mallorca) – Vice President  Asociación Ondine

Silke Bommersheim (Germany) – Environmental manager

Abi Tottman (UK) – Environmental manager

Sam Childs (UK)– Project coordinator

Alma Van Niekerk (New Zealand) – Marine Conservation advisor

Brad Robertson (Australia) – President of Asociacion Ondine, 

Nick Stael von Holstein (Sweden) – PR and promotions 

Bea Esparza (Spain) –accounts and kids programs specialist

Jonathan Fox Bassett (UK) – Official photographer/ videographer

David Diley (UK) – Official underwater photographer/ videographer

 

Not forgetting the huge number of volunteers around the islands that have signed up to help with various aspects of our projects. 

The other main reason I am so confident we will succeed, with your help of course, is the fact that the Balearic Islands hold some of the healthiest marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean, with our geographical location and the under-sea topography we are less influenced by the hugely destructive fishing practices seen in other parts of the Med. Which gives us a huge advantage but does not mean we are in a location that is not effected at all, we still have many issues here that require solutions. So in a nutshell we have the right team in the right area, it’s a winner!!

So if you are in re-fit this winter and have a load of usable goods you are about to throw away, think “Hey the great guys and girls at Asociación Ondine might use these for cool projects, I´ll call Brad and ask if they are useful for them.” It doesn’t take much! 

To finish off this months column I ask you all “ Can your business or yacht afford to join Asociación Ondine?” If the answer is yes then please contact us now, it is the right thing to do and a very gratifying thing to do as well. 

For those of you who don’t have a business or a yacht but would like to join we also have individual membership as well as a simple donation option.

Let’s show Spain and the rest of the world that all of us who call the Balearic Islands home or home away from home do care and can work together to improve this amazing part of the world! 

 

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Also read

Get your hard-copy now!

Your advert in The Islander Magazine?

Get your hard-copy now!

Your advert in The Islander Magazine?

JOIN OUR EVENT LIST
and receive your invitation to our events