PROFILE |
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An illustration by Rossiter of the earth in a baking tray covered in cling film |
“.... basically , the idea was that the sea creatures are drowning in our trash and that they don ’ t have a choice anymore ....” |
Ocean Sustainability Efforts
• 2021-2030 marks the United Nations ’ Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development .
• The UN ’ s Sustainable Development Goal 14 is Life Below Water . Its aim is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans .
• Nearly 90 % of the world ’ s fish stocks are now fully exploited or overfished ( World Bank ).
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but looking back I would say it wasn ’ t enough . I wouldn ’ t go further in the way of thinking , where do my clothes come from ? Where is plastic being made ? What is plastic ?” remarked Rossiter .
Assuming plastic waste was being repurposed for reuse in Germany , Rossiter used to purchase food packaged in single use plastic without much thought . But it was a trip to the Paris aquarium with her children – which revealed the detrimental effects of plastic pollution and its sheer scale .
“ I went to the aquarium for research purposes as I was writing a book about sea creatures . Often I took my children with me , as the aquarium has fun shows on for kids as an entertainment programme . But that one time they were talking about plastic pollution and they asked the children to help to clean up the ocean .” Rossiter thought it was unusual that this time they had chosen to discuss a serious subject with children at the aquarium .
Intrigued , Rossiter began to research plastic pollution and came across eyeopening images by wildlife photographers and documentaries of “ kids growing up in houses with plastic underneath them and rivers completely polluted and beaches full ”.
The shocking plastic pollution discoveries led Rossiter to transform her book about sea creatures into an environmental storyline . “ So it ’ s ‘ 1,2,3 , Who ’ s Cleaning the Sea ?, A counting picture book about protecting our planet ’ and basically the idea was that the sea creatures are drowning in our trash and that they don ’ t have a choice anymore and that they ’ re starting to bring it back to us and say , ‘ OK , this is enough .’”
It soon became apparent to Rossiter that the very system she had been relying on to recycle plastic , was flawed . “ I figured
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out that most of this was because we are exporting our waste to countries that cannot deal with it . And I discovered that I was so much part of the problem because I am using these things and I am trusting in systems that are actually broken . I was so shocked actually .” According to Greenpeace , about 241 truckloads of plastic waste from across Europe arrive in Turkey everyday .
Rossiter immersed herself in the subject of conservation and connected with activists , who have been in the field for many years . The more Rossiter learned about the ramifications of consumerism , the more guilt-ridden she felt about the time she spent not living a sustainable lifestyle .
“ After I launched my book I wanted to do more to help , but when I started to raise awareness of these issues I felt quite new in the world of conservationist and activist , as I wasn ’ t an environmentalist or a marine biologist . I almost felt like I didn ’ t have the right to be an activist because I realised I was part of the problem for so long . So I was a bit lost […] And I had actually two really good conversations with two people that were activists . Both of these people were telling me to not to worry too much about what I think about how I behaved in the past and to make it my mission now to change things ,” explained Rossiter .
Over the past three years , Rossiter has volunteered her artistic skills for several non-profit organisations and is currently helping The Marine Diaries – an ocean science , communication , and education non-profit – with their educational graphics of different ecosystems .
This project was featured alongside an illustration of Rossiter ’ s in the Environmental , Coastal and Offshore Magazine ( ECO ) UN / IOC UNESCO special edition , focusing on the UN Ocean
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Decade .
In December 2020 , Rossiter released her latest children ’ s book , “ Diamonds , Hearts and Sea Stars ”, which educates children about endangered marine animals through riddles and Rossiter ’ s magnificent illustrations .
Despite her immense talent and vast knowledge on marine issues , Rossiter remains humble . She says she is not good at marketing herself . Rossiter worked in communication design for 15 years , during which she worked with many leading brands . But now she is trying to do ocean conservation art full-time . Rossiter prefers clients who are socially and environmentally involved . But she is often approached to do voluntary work and finds it challenging to have a steady stream of income .
On artists pursuing artivism , Rossiter commented : “ I would suggest to artists , who want to protect the environment , to find the cause they care about , and then , wrap their arms around it and bring it to the attention of other people and not to use it as a fashion trend .”
An inspiring ocean conservationist , Rossiter believes anyone who is passionate enough can become a conservationist , without needing to be a specialist when they start out .
“ The problems we are having with our oceans are so immense and so important . If you ’ re passionate , you can do a lot more than the person who can read the science report , because you can actually get people to care . But I think it ’ s important that we all work together - scientists and artists .”
Rossiter emphasised the importance of highlighting conservation issues at every scale . She added that art , imagery and photos have the power to move people and are communicated universally .
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Image : Janina Rossiter |
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32 SLEUTH ISSUE 4 |