In early 2015, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to generate additional funding for the documentary 52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale. The film is now in post-production and follows the quest of Director Josh Zeman and a team of expert marine scientists as they trek across the Pacific Ocean in search of the elusive ‘52 Hertz’ whale.
The whale is so named because it emits calls at a frequency that no other whale can understand. It is believed that the whale has spent its entire life in solitude never receiving a response to its calls. The scientists working on the team are hoping to discover whether ocean noise pollution is one of the factors that may have caused ‘52 Hertz’ to be separated from its pod.
On board as a producer of the film is actor, filmmaker, musician and environmental activist, Adrian Grenier. In December of 2015, he co-founded the Lonely Whale Foundation whose mission is to bring people closer to the world’s oceans through education and awareness, inspiring empathy and action for ocean health and the well-being of marine wildlife.
Often times, filmmakers are so focused on delivering their film that there isn’t time to educate people on the topic they are producing. Lonely Whale is hoping to provide that education on a personal and meaningful level by connecting to the global ocean health community.
After successfully heading up several environmental initiatives at Vulcan Philanthropy, Dune Ives stepped in as executive director of Lonely Whale and immediately looked for ways to reach people on a human level.
“I found myself asking, ‘How do we care for the ocean?’ “, says Ives. “If we don’t really care about the ocean, we are just pushing a rock up a hill. I had chills thinking that the lonely whale could become a brand mascot for a healthy ocean.”
The story of the lonely whale has resonated so much with the general public that the organization attracted 35,000 followers on Instagram shortly after their launch. That number has almost doubled in less than twelve months.
With that base, Lonely Whale is looking to leverage their voice and interests while creating social impact and providing effective curriculum. They have chosen to focus on a few stressors that everyone can relate to; single-use plastic straws and sustainable seafood.
Over 500,000 drinking straws are used every day in the United States and straws are among the top ten marine plastic debris causing destruction to our oceans and its inhabitants. Lonely Whale has targeted a number of restaurants around the world to go plastic straw free. One restaurant that has come on board was handing out 1.5 million straws per year.
In an effort to grow the community, Lonely Whale has found fun ways to engage the youth of the world. Even if it as simple as declining to use 10 plastic straws in a given timeframe.
“There was a girl in the UK that did a plastic clean-up and donated her proceeds to charity,” Ives says. “It is important to bring on kids as environmental stewards.”
Adrian Grenier’s ties to the world population are pretty far-reaching and along with his work in the entertainment industry, he serves as a social good advocate on behalf of Dell. The impact he could have on ocean health by advocating to the crew on a film production alone is something to think about.
On World Ocean Day this past June, Grenier accepted a challenge from Sir Richard Branson to swim the 3.3 kilometer Strait of Messina between Italy and Sicily. Along with Ocean Unite, Lonely Whale launched the #makeasplash campaign which drew in over 120 organizations and countless individuals.
The lead up to the swim and the swim itself presented a unique opportunity for both Grenier and Branson to leverage their global presence to educate on ocean health. Joining them in the water was Princess Beatrice of the British royal family.
The Strait of Messina has currents and whirlpools that can be seen from space and with less than four months to prepare, Grenier turned to surfer Greg Long and endurance waterman and ocean advocate, Bruckner Chase for training advice.
The #makeasplash campaign drew a huge following and it notched 338 million social media impressions worldwide. It didn’t hurt that part of the social media fun included Richard Branson posing in a merman tail and Adrian Grenier doing a naked cannonball.
A strong believer in metaphors, Grenier looked at the challenge as a way to create a stronger relationship with the ocean. Training and preparing for it became a metaphor for working together to become one with the ocean.
“Adrian really does love metaphors,” says Ives. “On the day of the swim he found a birthday balloon on the beach and decided to swim the entire 3.3 kilometers with it tied around his neck. He figured that if a turtle has to swim with a plastic six-pack ring around his shell and a whale has to swim with plastic bags in its belly, then he should have to swim with the balloon.”
Metaphors have never seemed more beautiful. Bravo Mr. Grenier. Bravo.
December 2016 Stories from the Sea
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