Realise Christmas Card
Every year just like many other businesses, we like to send a little gift and Christmas card to the fantastic people we work with. With so much happening over 2021, with lockdowns, vaccines, environmental strikes and Cop 26. This Christmas, we felt our card and gift should reflect the events of the year.
Having spent more time reconnecting with the sea this year (learning to surf!) and researching some of the complex challenges facing our oceans for projects like SRT Marine’s system for tracking fishing vessels, I decided to donate our Christmas Gift budget to a positive ocean cause. In particular, we admired the long-term commitment of the UK’s Marine Conservation Society, started by a group of divers in the 1970s, who have been instrumental in creating the Marine Protected Areas in UK waters. The group Surfers Against Sewage are another favourite! And the infamous Sea Shepherds have a certain ‘piratey’ action allure, armed with Dale Vince (freethinker and founder of Ecotricity) as their Patron. But ‘The Shepherds’ also caused the deepest debates about “effective” conservation?
In the end, Realise chose PRISTINE SEAS, finalists in this year’s Earth Shot Prize, for their effectiveness in creating marine protected areas all around the planet. We loved how such a tiny group made an immense impact, which resonated with us! Pristine Seas are led by Enric Sala, a former oceanography professor who quit academia after he saw “what I was doing was simply writing the obituary of the ocean” to become a full-time conservationist as a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. Since only 2008, Pristine Seas have been quietly carrying out excellent scientific exploration and building consensus amongst diverse interests to facilitate the formation of 24 Marine Reserves covering 5% of our oceans. That’s an area twice the size of India.
Their mission is to get 30% of the Ocean protected by 2030 – “30 by 30” – to help stabilise the world’s marine ecosystems, a vital goal for all of us.
We believe in them, so our donated gift for 2021 is dedicated to them.
The card to match such a worthy cause took some thinking. Corin took the energy and passion that the team shared to put together a hand-drawn piece graphically.
Pristine seas show that doing is better than talking to help our planet little by little. With the world turning the corner on the covid pandemic, there has never been a better time to find economic and environmental value for products and businesses. We have used this time to find a way to help you. Considering 2022, the challenges are more extensive, and the urgency is more significant. Positive Products is our solution to the design process that can tackle these challenges. Call us to see how our new approach can help you.
