Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) partnered Environment 360 in collaboration with Adventure Junkies organised the first ever annual float your boat fundraiser in Ghana. The event was graciously hosted at the Lakeside Marina Park on Saturday at Accra. The initiative was to educate people on sustainable methods of waste management and how to make money from plastic waste. The event featured other organizations - Adventure Junkies, UT Bank and Trotro Diaries. The concept of the event was for each team including my organization (Green Africa Youth Organization) to build a boat or raft with plastic waste and battle it out on the lake to be winners in a race. Prior to the day of the event, each of the competing teams went around bar and pubs, collecting water bottles and other plastics in a bid to create awareness of the plastic waste menace in the country.  In addition to the awareness creation, it is also hoped that the float your boat campaign will expose people to creative and sustainable uses of plastic waste.

1. GAYO team getting ready to float

Crafts such as waste bins and miniature statues were made also using empty plastic bottles. In addition to the lake competition, there were other team building activities like volleyball and football to make the event more lively and attract environmental enthusiasts to donate towards environmental protection.

2. #TeamGAYO floating our plastic boat.

Funds raised from this event will go to support the community programming projects of Environment 360 which include expanding the national sanitation day with public schools, as well as creating five targeted education programs that teach children waste segregation habits, gardening skills and leadership skills that empower them to be waste ambassadors in their communities.

3. Paddling was not easy but #TeamGAYO finished second.

Little by little, Environment 360, just like GAYO also hopes to inspire people to find creative ways to reduce or reuse their own waste, especially recyclable waste and also see plastic waste as more than just a #waste.

I was proud to have steered my organization in partnering such an innovative activity.