Alison Wood & Jenn Wesanko

We are energizing a growing community of Ocean Ambassadors by engaging people with the seas that surround us. We start these ambassadors on their journey by forging a relationship with the ocean that includes wet feet, personal experience, and enthusiastic ecology—understanding the problem of ocean garbage and inspiring them to take action.

Alison operates Mt. Seymour Ski Resort with her husband. A former competitive sailor and triathlete, her lifelong love of the oceans also includes kayaking, prone and stand-up paddleboard (SUP) racing — which has taken her to the Maui2Molokai (M2M) channel crossing race and to the ISA’s World SUP Championships in Fiji.

“The inspiration for Ocean Ambassadors came while on my SUP board in Deep Cove. The incredible beauty of the ocean was regularly contrasted with garbage floating in the water. We need to inspire people to protect our oceans, and to do that we need to get people to the beach and onto the water to experience its magic.”

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Jenn is principal of Jenn Wesanko Communications, a boutique communications company with a reputation for creatively taking big ideas from the boardroom to the street. As a leader in the environmental community for the past ten years, Jenn provides hands-on guidance for groups such as Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, the National Film Board of Canada, the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education, the GLOBE Series, Equiterre and Smart Prosperity.

 “Real changes in society come from vast numbers of people changing their minds. For too many young people the ocean remains a concept outside their personal experience. By getting their feet wet we are creating new relationships with the ocean so that they have skin in the game and make choices that both heal and protect our oceans.”

Ocean Ambassadors connects people with the ocean and engages them on the issue of plastic pollution.

“We offer teachers a short curriculum for use in their classroom, which culminates in a group paddleboarding experience and an interactive, on-the-beach workshop.”

Students in grades 2 and 5 through 8 as well summer camp participants get their minds challenged, their feet wet, and their hearts inspired.