In the summer of 2019, Sasha Olsen took a boat trip with her family to Asia. The ten-year-old girl was very excited before setting off. However, when she saw serious plastic pollution in the ocean and many dying sea animals, she felt sad.
Olsen became even more upset after returning home to South Florida. Some local beaches had been closed because of plastic pollution. The girl decided it was time to do something. She joined forces with her cousin, Narmina Aliyev, and started the "I Want My Ocean Back" movement.
The movement started small. The two, together with their friends, cleaned up local beaches. Later, they hosted events to raise money for beach cleanups. Olsen has encouraged many other kids in her city to join her. Last summer, she organized "Kids Heal the Oceans." The girl spoke about how to stop pollution. After that, her guests made art out of the plastic that had been gathered from their beach cleanups.
Olsen and her younger sister Mia have been working on a book about the ocean. They want to show how pollution in the oceans affects children. "I want my sister to care about the ocean as much as I do." said Olsen. "I want to set an example not only to my generation but also to the generation after me."
Olsen and Aliyev now hope to extend their movement to other seaside cities. Olsen has set up a channel on the video-sharing platform YouTube. She posts videos from events. And for her "Table Talks" interviews, she chats with people from different professions (行业) about the ocean. After the interview, she and her guest will create a painting. After having been signed by the guest, the painting will be sold to raise money for environmental organizations.
"To bring back clean oceans, we need everybody's effort." said Olsen. "Do something, or we will all have to swim in oceans with lots of waste instead of with beautiful sea animals!"
