Journey To Ithaka
The Problem
One could draw an analogy between the perilous ten-year journey of king Odysseus back to his homeland Ithaca and the environmental catastrophe that the contemporary inhabitants of the island have faced for the last 10 years, which peaked when a cyclone ravaged through Western Greece.
The Solution
The contemporary journey to Ithaca involves a team of 40, most of them volunteers including 20 divers, modern day heroes whose mission it is to fight for a better world, against all obstacles, by cleaning up seas and oceans, benefiting marine life and humanity.
When Healthy Seas learned about the devastation, we decided to mobilise all our forces, bringing together environmentalists, local authorities, and sponsors and make our journey. With support from Hyundai Motor Europe, we organised our biggest cleanup operation to-date to restore the beautiful island and to help the locals. We were not alone in this endeavour. Technical volunteer divers from the Ghost Diving Foundation travelled to Ithaca from the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Lebanon and Croatia to lead the underwater cleanup efforts, joining forces with local divers from Greece. Together with sustainable fishing startup Enaleia, we organised beach cleanups. Kefalonia Fisheries, a company that operates on the nearby island, welcomed Healthy Seas’ invitation and supported the operation with logistics. Other local stakeholders were also strongly involved in the efforts, including Odyssey Outdoor Activities, Aquatic Dive Center, the Municipality of Ithaca and Prefecture of Ionian Islands. The entire project was held under the Auspice of the Hellenic Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
The recovered fishing nets will be regenerated by Aquafil, together with other nylon waste, into ECONYL® yarn, the basis for new sustainable products. In the framework of Enaleia’s Mediterranean Cleanup Project, the rest of the collected marine plastics will also be integrated into the circular economy.
On World Oceans Day (June 8th) we organised a public event to bring attention to the issue of marine litter, ghost nets and the importance of clean and healthy seas and engage the local community. The programme included a welcome from the Mayor of Ithaca and activities for children and adults, like arts/crafts and the Healthy Seas state-of-the-art Virtual Reality experience.
