National Volunteer Week

By Emily Ramlochun, Volunteer, Sea Smart

Our wonderful volunteers here at Sea Smart are truly the backbone of all the amazing work we do! With their help, we have been able to continue to spread awareness of ocean conservation and reach so many passionate students. As this week is National Volunteer Week, we wanted to take the time to recognize some of the amazing work our volunteers have done for us in the past months.

We asked a few of our volunteers to tell us a little about themselves, what they have been working on, and to share a little ocean conservation tip! 

MEET OUR VOLUNTEERS

Calvin Chang -

Curriculum Development

Volunteer

Hello, I’m Calvin and I graduated from UBC with a Bachelor’s of Science in Pharmacology in May 2020. I have been an active volunteer since high school but mainly focused on providing service in healthcare and to the elderly. I joined Sea Smart in June 2020 because I wanted to gain more experience with working with youth and gain a stronger grasp on education. I have always been fascinated with the vastness of the ocean, so volunteering here was an easy decision to make.

At Sea Smart, I mainly focus on content creation. I worked on the Ocean Defender, Marine Biologist in Training, and Clean Water Champion courses that Sea Smart offers. During my time at Sea Smart, I have created over 20 educational Kahoot presentations for youth. Within my presentations, one message I always tell children is to remember to bring their own plastic or reusable bags when grocery shopping. These bags may be cheap and convenient to get from the store, but they are just so harmful to marine organisms and the environment.

Saloni Mulani - Social Media Volunteer

Hi! My name is Saloni. I recently received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia. I am currently working as a Program Assistant at Perinatal Services BC. I have a distinct cultural background in which I have repeatedly been exposed to new cultures - I was born in India, grew up in Congo and Madagascar, and now live in Canada.

I love spending time with my family and friends as well as pursuing my hobbies: traveling, cooking and looking up new recipes to make, trying out new cuisines, swimming, and reading. I chose to volunteer with Sea Smart because I wanted to contribute to raising awareness about ocean preservation.

I strongly believe that by empowering people to take environmental action in their daily lives, we can start to build a more sustainable world. I help Sea Smart with social media by creating social posts and content captions for their Instagram and Twitter pages. I am currently creating content for the Wildlife Wednesday posts on Instagram! My favourite ocean-friendly tip is to make it a point to use reusable bags, beverage cups, and food containers. When you must use disposable items, reuse or recycle them whenever possible. Say no to straws! Plastic straws are one of the top ocean trash items and easily get swallowed by ocean animals.

Rynn Zhang - Curriculum Development and Educator Volunteer

I'm a UBC Materials Engineering student interested in sustainable textiles development and environmental justice. I chose to volunteer with Sea Smart because of my passion for educating youth. Their curiosity is truly inspiring and quite contagious! My role entails providing virtual workshops and collaborating with other volunteers in developing Sea Smart's various awesome online courses. My favourite ocean-friendly tip is to always carry a cool reusable water bottle around with you (I use a Hydroflask) to avoid single-use plastic bottles!

Are you interested in volunteering with Sea Smart? We are always looking for passionate, creative, and reliable volunteers who are keen on mentoring youth, spreading awareness for ocean conservation and growing as an individual!