Jessica Rose has been living as plastic free as possible with her husband Dominic for more than four years. She's an environment campaign manager at national charity Business in the Community and wanted to do something tangible in her local community here in Thanet. You can find her doing beach cleans, running or performing poetry, all to push for action on the climate crisis.
Email: jess@co-relate.co.uk
Insta: @Plastic_Free_Thanet
Twitter: @noplasticthanet
I have always been in love with the sea, but when I first came to Thanet, I realised how much work needed to be done to help preserve our beautiful coastal environment. I learnt to kitesurf when I moved here so I spend a lot of time in the water surrounding Margate – I see first hand the damage that sewage releases and littering do to our beaches. It’s appalling and heart-breaking but I’m proud to be surrounded by people who are also dedicated to fighting this – for healthy seas and plastic-free towns and cities.
Melanie Johnsson is a French illustrator and designer based in Margate, UK. When she isn’t working for clients or creating colourful artworks, she can be found in the sea – kitesurfing, surfing or freediving. She co-founded the local kitesurfing school TIDE and is a regional REP for Surfers Against Sewage.
Danielle is an experienced event professional with over 11 years of corporate event management experience. Frustrated with the reliance on single use items and a need for change in the event industry, she launched her own sustainable event management and consultancy business in January 2020 – reWARD Events. They specialise in creating memorable experiences with purpose, that reduce the negative impact on the environment and drive positive change.
Danielle lives in the village of Minster with her partner Ben and 2 year old son Avery. She is passionate about sustainability and wanted to help her local village reduce their reliance on single use plastic and recently signed up to represent Minster on the road to becoming a Plastic Free Community.
Email: danielle@rewardevents.co.uk
Insta: Rewardevents
Monica
The pull of the sea is so strong. Watching the waves roll in and out, the sounds, the feel of water on my skin and sand in between my toes makes my soul happy. I’m lucky enough to have lived by the sea all my life and feel passionate about protecting our beaches and wildlife so becoming a lead for Plastic Free Broadstairs is super exciting for me! I own a plastic free and reduced waste refill food and lifestyle store called Salt of the Earth Broadstairs so you’ll either find me here or on the beach. Come and hi if you’re in town.
Alex
Growing up with salt in the air – I’ve always had a close affinity with the sea. Having been a beach lifeguard for the best part of the last two decades, I have been lucky enough to be literally immersed into our waters at different tides, states and from many different angles. It is this connection that gives me a sense of duty to try and protect the beauty and natural benefits that it naturally provides.
Insta: @plasticfreebroadstairs
I am one of the four Green Councillors and so pleased to represent the ward of Central Harbour in Ramsgate. I moved to Thanet in 2010 after giving up teaching and have always had a keed interest in all things rubbish. We have established a really positive group and Litter Forum in Ramagste that has really made a big difference and we do have businesses beginging to tackle the issue of 'reduce, reuse and refuse' to help tackle our increasing plastics issue.
In addition, we have created a number of plastic awareness projects including a Rubbish Carnival Float, which was literally made almost entirely of collected rubbish which was mainly plastic. It therefore seemed a natuiral progression to become the Plastic Free Community Lead for Ramsgate in the hope we can 'spread the word' and reduced plastic use.
Louisa works with individuals and organisations to find creative and innovative solutions to the complex problems of our time, and empowering business as a force for good. She is also Head of Sustainability & Systems Change at Brandpie, a sustainable business tutor at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership and a Trustee of Hawkwood the Centre for Future Thinking.
After 13 years working with global organisations, now Margate based Louisa has joined Co-Relate as a non executive director, with a focus on our work with businesses on Plastic Free Thanet and creating positive impact locally.
A graduate of Canterbury Christ Church University with a degree in English Language and Creative Writing, Justin has spent most of the past six years as a freelance content writer working with clients such as the Margate Bookie. In his time at Margate Bookie, he has become an integral part of their core team, managing many aspects of their social media, website management, and live events coordination. He has also founded and leads their Zine project, a global collection of themed creative works, funded by Arts Council England and others.
Justin leads on the Plastic Free Thanet monthly newsletter, web pages, and social media content.
Ellie is an artist, writer and campaigner based in Thanet. She works as a Campaign Lead for Plastic Free Thanet, and freelance graphic designer and content producer. Ellie has co-created local campaigns - The Margate Cup and #ChooseToReuse to improve local sustainability. She works collaboratively with businesses, offering consultation on social and environmental sustainability. Drawing on her background in social anthropology, her creative work explores themes around the human-environment nexus, queer ecology, relationality and the body, through writing, film and material projects.
Ellie leads on our business case studies, our newsletter and socials, and sharing stories of success from Thanet's Plastic Free Champions.
Plastic Free Thanet aims to stop single-use plastic on our streets and beaches.
We'll do this through collaborating with Thanet District Council, local businesses and community groups as well as joining with campaigns including Surfers Against Sewage and Rise Up Clean Up.
Thanks to Sea-Changers for their generous support of this project.
Find out more about the campaign.
