Salish Sea Hero: Mason's Ocean

Eleven-year-old, Mason Vander Ploeg making signs to advertise a beach clean-up for World Ocean Cleanup Day, 2019

Like a lot of grade 3 kids, Mason Vander Ploeg loved the sea and especially whales and dolphins. But when his mom told him about a man named Rob Stewart and his work to uncover through film the unlawful killing of sharks, Mason was inspired to devote his life to saving sharks.

This inspiration took on a laser focus when on a trip to Hawaii, he was shown a dead, baby hammerhead shark on the beach with a fishing line stuck in its mouth. That was three years ago and ever since, Mason has been promoting a zero waste lifestyle through social media, television, and radio to save the ocean.

He knows that the source of plastics in the ocean (marine debris) that is harming sea life is, well, us. You and I and what we choose to use. He shows us how to do our best to improve on the stuff we use in our everyday lives. Mason does not just settle for the 3 R’s for cutting down waste (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), but lives by double that number:

REFUSE-REDUCE-REUSE-REPAIR-RETHINK AND THEN RECYCLE.

Those 6 R’s are making a difference in his home, and all around his city. London Drugs, a major Canadian-owned company, took notice of Mason’s work after he had been tagging them in his posts. They work hard to make recycling the goods they sell easy to do.

London Drugs partnered with Mason to promote ocean-friendly purchasing and recycling. See their video and hear straight from Mason himself .

Mason’s ocean-rescue efforts are making it to TEDx in Surrey this month. He and a friend will inspire listeners to join the rising tide on lowering debris in the sea.

London Drugs isn’t the only organization to notice what Mason is doing in his spare time. Mason was asked to speak on TEDx Bear Creek event in Surrey, BC this month.

TEDx is a local gathering where thought-provoking presentations are shared with the community.

The focus of Tedx BearCreek is “A shift in thinking”. Mason wants us all to shift how to live and think about plastics in order to keep our oceans healthy.

Mason is getting a lot of attention for his sea-saving messages and clean-up actions, but where he really wants our attention is on the ocean and how our own families can clean up our acts to help it heal. To the right are some of Mason’s ways to help, in his own words:

If you see something - say something! If you’re at a restaurant and notice they’re serving plastic straws talk to a manager, write a letter, or start a petition to get them to switch to paper straws
Like Gandhi says, “Be the change you want to be in the world”. If you don’t like seeing so much plastic in your community …do something! Use your voice to demand change and use your consumer dollars wisely. Don’t purchase products that use unnecessary plastic.
Live by the 6 R’s with REFUSE being the most important. The less plastic you bring home the better.
If you see garbage on the ground - pick it up! Start a cleanup or join one. There’s many websites that help organize cleanups like “www.shorelinecleanup.com". Cleanup up your trails, parks, beaches, neighbourhood - wherever you are.
Its not your garbage but it is your planet.

Mason is leading all of this ocean action alongside an active life of school, family, friends, and church, and did I mention that Mason is now only 11 years old (grade 6)? Last year, he was slowed down by an unexpected emergency surgery-on his heart! A life-saving procedure corrected a narrowing of his artery at BC Children’s Hospital. He is grateful to the team there and even more grateful to be recovered and back at his job of saving the oceans for sharks and all the animals in it!

If you are as inspired as we are at SeaDoc Society, by Mason, and want to follow his progress, learn about amazing sea creatures, and do your best to join him in saving the sea, you can follow his social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Mason, thank you for following your calling. Your courage to act makes you a true Salish Sea Hero!

Mason’s Ocean Facebook

Salish Sea Hero: Mason's Ocean

REFUSE-REDUCE-REUSE-REPAIR-RETHINK AND THEN RECYCLE.

If you see something - say something! If you’re at a restaurant and notice they’re serving plastic straws talk to a manager, write a letter, or start a petition to get them to switch to paper straws

Like Gandhi says, “Be the change you want to be in the world”. If you don’t like seeing so much plastic in your community …do something! Use your voice to demand change and use your consumer dollars wisely. Don’t purchase products that use unnecessary plastic.

Live by the 6 R’s with REFUSE being the most important. The less plastic you bring home the better.

If you see garbage on the ground - pick it up! Start a cleanup or join one. There’s many websites that help organize cleanups like “www.shorelinecleanup.com". Cleanup up your trails, parks, beaches, neighbourhood - wherever you are.

Its not your garbage but it is your planet.