After sailing across the Pacific Ocean in 2012 to study the Western Garbage Patch, Kristal Ambrose was inspired to spark a plastic pollution revolution in her home, The Bahamas. Her passion for the issue led her to develop and launch Bahamas Plastic Movement (BPM), a non-profit organization geared towards raising awareness and finding solutions to plastic pollution through research, education, citizen science & policy change, we can create a healthy marine and terrestrial environment free of plastic pollution.

 

Kristal’s mission through  BPM’s mission is to build a community of education and activism around plastic pollution by empowering Bahamian youth. Through her brainchild, the Plastic Pollution Education and Ocean Conservation Summer Camp a.k.a “Plastic Camp”, this tuition free program has engaged over 1000 students and teachers in plastic pollution research and education in The Bahamas and has removed over 5,000lbs of marine debris from beaches on eight (8) Bahamian Islands. Plastic camp has been ongoing since 2014 and with the help of its youth delegation, they successfully petitioned the government of The Bahamas to ban single use plastics. This nationwide ban came into effect in January 2020. ​Learn more about the Bahamas Plastic Movement here. 

 

Kristal’s journey to change with Bahamian youth via BPM is beautifully captured in the renowned documentary Plastic Warriors. Shot with vintage anamorphic lenses to exalt the beauty of The Bahamas landscapes’, Plastic Warriors is a documentary that follows Kristal’s fight to battle plastic pollution in The Bahamas and highlights the possibilities of change to protect the environment through youth empowerment. Since its release, Plastic Warriors was selected as a 2020 Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalist, considered the “Oscars” of environmental filmmaking. Watch Plastic Warriors here and consider downloading the screening kit here.