Breaking Water with Rochelle Byrne
Swim Drink Fish is highlighting members of our incredible ecosystem. This Breaking Water segment features Rochelle Byrne. Rochelle and A Greener Future have led the effort to reduce the impacts of litter on the environment, economy, and people since 2014. We asked her about her personal connection to the water and how to get involved in the sometimes daunting task of helping protect our planet.
Can you please introduce yourself and tell us where you work and what you do?
I'm Rochelle Byrne, and I'm the Founder and Executive Director of A Greener Future, an environmental nonprofit I started back in 2014. Our focus is litter cleanup and waste reduction, and we are dedicated to leading the effort in sustaining a clean and healthy environment for all. By bringing together a community of environmental stewards, we facilitate programs that clean up and prevent future waste from ending up in the environment. As education is at the centre of what we do, we inspire change through a variety of learning opportunities. Our programs raise awareness about plastic pollution, and detailed data collection sheds light on the most common items that are found during litter cleanups. Our volunteers have assisted in picking up over 4 million pieces of litter to date.
Where did you grow up? Did you have a relationship with water there?
I grew up in Bobcaygeon, Ontario which is an area that is surrounded by water. My earliest memories include fishing with my Dad and going to the beach with my Mom. Because I grew up in this environment, I definitely took it for granted. It wasn't until I moved away from the area that I realized how lucky I was to live in such a beautiful spot. Now I find myself taking any opportunity I can to get back to the water, and I'm very lucky that A Greener Future gives me plenty of opportunities to do so.
What is the most powerful memory you have of being on or near the water?
The most powerful memory I have of being on the water is when I rode a stand-up paddleboard 430 km across Lake Ontario in 2020. The pandemic brought plenty of shutdowns including the cancellation of all of A Greener Future's in-person events. I didn't want to waste a summer waiting around for the restrictions to change, so I decided to paddle from Kingston to Niagara-on-the-Lake to raise awareness about plastic pollution. Seeing the lake from a new perspective and spending so much time on the water in a variety of conditions helped foster a bond with the Lake that I could never imagine. Every day I saw different species, the diversity of shoreline ecosystems, and the power of the water; I also saw many things that were concerning. If you're interested in seeing my journey, it was turned into a documentary called Shoreline: The Paddle Against Plastic, and it can be found for free here: https://www.agreenerfuture.ca/shoreline
What advice would you give to someone who wants to get involved in protecting the planet but doesn’t know where to start?
Start small. I started with picking up litter and over the years I have learned so much about the environment through this activity. I got curious about where waste goes, how recycling works, whether compostable materials are actually compostable, and what I could do to reduce my personal waste. One of the first things I did was ditch single-use plastic bottles. It's the inspiring people I've met along the way that keep me motivated. I love the conversations, the constant innovation, and the opportunity to keep learning and doing better. Every year A Greener Future hosts hundreds of litter cleanups in Southern Ontario; we would love to have you join us!
Do you have anything else that you’d like to share about your work, your connection to water, or how we can encourage people to join the movement for a swimmable, drinkable, fishable future?
The environmental movement can be very doom and gloom, and although it is a very pressing issue, hearing all this scary information can be paralyzing. I think the best thing to ensure a swimmable, drinkable, fishable future is to surround yourself with community members who also care about environmental issues. We can accomplish so much more together.
Clif Family Foundation is proud to support hundreds of organizations that are working tirelessly to strengthen our food system, enhance equitable community health outcomes, and protect the places we play by being stewards of our environment and natural resources. Their desire is to leave the world a better place for our children.
