Seriously, where did February go? It seemed we had just settled into 2018 and suddenly it was March! The team have been heavy into press and outreach this month and have had some exciting things come out of that. Here’s the February round up in case you missed anything.
Events and news…
- Caroline was invited to give a talk at her office and got to showcase everything we’re working to accomplish
- Susan and Jess spoke at the #MeetTheSDGs meetup about everyday actions we can do to cut down on plastic waste
- We were introduced to a wonderful filmmaker and are currently exploring opportunities with him (watch this space for updates!)
- Enjoyed some great vegan pizza and pancakes with two of our ground support crew for pancake day. Lots of bonding and trying to get Susan in and out of wet weather gear after a few bottles of wine!
- We committed to giving up plastic for Lent.
- Caroline brought the world’s largest planning calendar and made us all get organised about our upcoming events (we’ve got lots to share with you shortly!)
- Lilly (of Lillys Plastic Pickup) fame had sent us some questions so we put together a video response for her which you can see here. Lily is only 9 but is already making a huge impact in her community!
- We meet the guys from CanO Water who’ve had the brilliant idea of mineral water in a resealable can as an alternative to plastic bottles. The cans look and taste great!
Fundraising
- Pip and Nut have kindly offered to help fuel us across the Atlantic with some of their delicious nut butters!
- Redesign of the fundraising page! Following lots of great feedback from you guys, we decided to add some more information to our support page as well as a gauge so you can see where we are in our financial goals and celebrate milestones with us.
Training
- Jess overdid it on the rower and managed to royally screw up her back and spent a few weeks recovering with the help of some talented Osteopaths and Physiotherapists.
- Caroline got the flu and had to be wrestled away from her rower to recover.
- Jess & Caroline sat their short wave radio certification exam, so now all three of us passed with flying colours and we now feel confident that if we run into any trouble we can safely call a mayday. Also learned how to call other boats to arrange meeting locations for G&Ts.
- Caroline & Jess passed their First Aid course - although the teacher did advise Caroline may need to work on her squeamishness if she ever needs to deal with a bloody situation! (Susan is doing her course in Essex and will be updating her progress later this month)
- We met Andy Bruce, a sports trainer and sports psychologist who gave us loads of helpful advice about training for the race, approaching sponsors and dealing with the mental strain of it all.
- Susan hit 2 hours on the rower! “It felt great- I was proud! But scary… can’t imagine doing that 6 times a day!!”
- While Jess went back to basics on the rower Caroline powered ahead and hit the elusive 2 hours and 10-minute mark!
Press & Social Media
- The team got interviewed by Isabelle Truscott - a wonderful journalism student who is putting together her radio thesis about the environment and plastic pollution. We can’t wait to hear the final project!
- It’s been a press-heavy month with Status Row mentioned in the University of Hertfordshire news, Watford London UK, ISS Waste Week, Outdoors Radar, Essex TV and Bernews! So excited to be sharing our story so far and wide.
Coming up
- We’re planning another speaking event, this time alongside the inspirational Alex Mason at the Canvas Cafe. Planned for the end of April- we’ll confirm the date and where you can buy tickets soon.
- We started working on organising a screening of A Plastic Ocean for two dates in May and will be announcing dates & where you can get your ticket shortly.
- We’ll be getting wet in the pool during our Sea Survival training with First Class Sailing next weekend.
- Caroline will be giving another talk about our mission at Wonerdbly.
- Make sure you’re following us on Facebook and Twitter as we’ll be announcing details of all events here.
Many thanks to everyone who has supported us this month and make sure to keep those questions and messages pouring in!
Much love xx
Status Row