David de Rothschild interview - plus video!


Plastic bottle boats, shooting stars and saving the ocean? NG Kids chats with eco adventurer David de Rothschild...

NG Kids Hi David! What do you love most about the ocean?
David de Rothschild You never know what you’re going to get – it’s waves can go from rocking you gently to suddenly throwing you around fiercely!

NGK What’s your favourite sea creature?
David I’m a big fan of the leafy sea dragon – they just look so cool! I like octopuses and sharks too.

NGK What is your first memory of the sea?
David I’ve been fascinated by the ocean ever since I was scooped out the waves by my mum when I was three years old. My fascination has continued to grow – especially in the last four years since I started work on the Plastiki expedition.


NGK Can you tell us a bit about the Plastiki expedition?
David Last year, along with a fearless crew, I sailed 13,000km from the USA to Australia on Plastiki, a boat made out of 12,500 plastic bottles. We wanted to get people thinking about how much plastic litters our oceans, and find better things to do with our waste - like recycle!

NGK How did the trip change the way you saw the ocean?
David Being out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and seeing plastic floating past, thousands of miles away from anything, reminded me that no matter how big we think our planet is, and how deep and expansive our oceans are, we are taking over every corner of our planet.

NGK What was your biggest worry on the expedition?
David There were massive storms and we were in the ocean on a boat made out of plastic bottles! 8 million items enter in our oceans every day, so I was worried we’d end up adding to it. Luckily we didn’t lose any bottles! (Watch the crew talking about a storm above!)

NGK What was the best moment of the expedition?
David It was full of amazing moments! Waking up at sea and seeing the horizon every day was amazing. And night time was great too. We had shooting stars above us, and sea creatures coming up and saying hello. It was magical!

NGK We need to protect our seas don’t we?
David Yes! Climate change, pollution and over-fishing are a big problem. People talk passionately about the world’s big cats and how sad it would be if they disappeared. It would be terrible but the fish in our seas are just as important.

NGK Why do you think over-fishing is happening?
David Because the ocean is so vast, we never really think about the fact we’re catching wild animals to feed people. If we only ate chickens that were found in the wild, we wouldn’t have many chickens left.

NGK How can NG Kids readers help?
David Ask questions about our oceans and act on the information. If you read this, get out there and do something! Whether it’s a big project with your class to raise awareness or something smaller, like using less plastic, just doing one thing will help make a real difference...

David de Rothschild is head of MYOO, a group that believes in the power of stories and adventure to drive social and environmental change. Find out more at myoo.com. Check out theplastiki.com for the lowdown on David’s Plastiki expedition!

Crew photo © Patrick Riviere. Other photos © Luca Babini

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