Mar de Fondo
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Project Description
Mar de Fondo is a non-profit organization from the island of Mallorca that is dedicated to raise awareness of the human impact on earth by bringing people closer to the marine environment through sports activities.
To achieve this goal we create experiences, educational programs and events that involve environmental awareness and sports, transmitting an active, healthy and environmentally conscious lifestyle, so that they appreciate themselves and the environment in which they live.
Geographical Scope
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Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
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Description of the project
Summary
In the last decades, the impact of human activities on the natural ecosystems has increased exponentially. The deterioration of the natural environment and the rapid loss of biodiversity are producing serious threats to human health and well-being.
We live in a society in which lifestyles are characterized by sedentary behaviors, increasing obesity, stress, mental health problems and the disconnection of humans with nature, having strong negative effects on our health and that of our planet. These changes mean that we are less likely to lead active lifestyles, as we spend more time in built environments and less time in natural environments.
From Mar de Fondo, we want to promote the conservation and protection of our island based on three pillars: health, sports and environmental education. We have detected that combining these pillars is how we can best raise awareness and educate our society.
Since we were kids, we have learned to enjoy the wind, the waves and the incredible underwater life that we have on our island, Mallorca. Over time, our sea has deteriorated due to its lack of care, leading to a decrease in marine life and biodiversity. We have realized that there are very big and clear problems worldwide, which are affecting our health and that of our planet, threatening the ecosystems of our island. We have seen that there are people and companies who do not want to see this problem or have no interest in solving it.
For this reason, we decided to create Mar de Fondo. We want to transmit that as young people we can create projects that are born with the idea of helping and contributing to society and the world in which we live, involving the local community to protect and care for the natural environment.
Education and awareness are the first steps towards sustainable actions.
Key objectives for sustainability
We believe that working on sustainability means adapting to the changes, which leads us directly to provoke innovation in the way in which we do things.
Sustainability for Mar de Fondo means commitment and authenticity and implies putting three fundamental pillars at the center: people, the environment and the long term impact. It is with this mentality that we commit to work on this project and the alliances that we have created together. These are the main subjects we work on with:
- Sport as a driver of change and as a means of integrating conservation values and healthy habits.
- Awareness and sensibilization of the problems that affect the marine environment on our island.
- Solutions and actions to promote sustainable development.
- Education about Mediterranean species, their functioning in the ecosystem and the threats they suffer.
- Conservation and implementation of marine protected areas.
We also created a framework that provides a solid foundation and allows us to establish a starting point for the sustainable transition of our island: where we are and where we are going. Building a committed and lasting relationship in the long term with the organizations we are working with.
This framework is based on three aspects:
Cultural: Internal research on how sustainability is perceived to start with the change of mindset and the activation of a sustainable culture.
Technical: Analysis of the negative impact and the implementation of the necessary changes in the infrastructure and technology to reduce the impact on the environment and produce a positive contribution in the shortest period of time possible.
Actions: Real and executable actions that show and give meaning to the project we are carrying out.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
At Mar de Fondo we work on a specific objective: preserve and protect the marine environment through environmental education and sports. We believe that it is essential to educate people in an attractive way, which allows them to enjoy the marine environment through the practice of water sports, being aware of the importance of the protection and conservation of the Balearic Sea. That is why we decided to use sport as a vehicle for integrating these values of conservation and care for the environment.
In addition, we want to transmit the idea that as young people we can create projects that are born from the beginning with the idea of helping and contributing a good to society and the world in which we live. Here are some of the key objectives we aim to:
- Increase knowledge of the initiatives that are being carried out on the island to seek solutions to current problems.
- Inform about the different species that we have in the Mediterranean Sea
- Raise awareness of local issues
- Learn about solutions to different problems.
- Reconnect people with the natural environment, increasing their comfort within the aquatic environment.
- Promote an active, healthy and environmentally conscious lifestyle
It is also very important to us that everything we do is accessible to everyone. It is essential that this message reaches all sectors of society, we do not want prices to make it something exclusive and difficult to access, we want it to be something inclusive and designed for everyone. Because the fundamental thing here is that as a society we find healthier and more coherent ways of living.
We also believe that it is very important to have a very high quality standard, both in the sports experience and in the educational content. That is why we work only with experienced qualified instructors and together with the best marine conservation entities in Mallorca, since it is essential to have experts in the different fields of conservation.
Key objectives for inclusion
The main objective of our actions is to bring the community closer to the marine environment through actions that involve water sports activities and environmental awareness.
- We design these actions so that they are affordable and accessible to all of society with the focus of raising awareness of the problems that we have on the island and the solutions that exist to stop them.
- In our events we collaborate with other organizations to create a bigger impact with our actions.
- We aim to introduce to our community people, projects and companies that are committed to the environment and are looking for real solutions to environmental problems our planet is facing.
Our social networks: Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn and our Webpage, are a source of free information, knowledge and inspiration for our community. These are the platforms in which we interact with society on a day to day basis, to inform them about problems, solutions, projects on the island and to notify our upcoming events and actions.
We co-create with our community, asking them about topics, which based on their experience and knowledge, we want to know their opinion on how to promote water sports integrating them with marine conservation values and to seek solutions to local problems of Mallorca.
At Mar de Fondo we are committed to establish collaborations, partnerships and projects that generate real and lasting changes. We do not see the solution in single actions, but rather to bet on a long-term strategy that seeks to obtain a greater social and environmental impact, and that aims to integrate those values of an active, healthy and environmentally conscious lifestyle. For us it is important to team up with other organizations to maximize the impact of our actions.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
Mar de Fondo was born with the idea of helping and contributing to society and the world in which we live, involving the local community to protect and care for the natural environment.
We have been committed since day 1 to unify society and create active experiences that reconnect people with nature in the purest way. We want to create projects that can inspire others to replicate them in other parts of the world. That is the reason why we put the people, the environment and the long term impact as our main pillars for environmental sustainability.
If we raise people's awareness by connecting them with nature through sports experiences, showing them the reality that we are facing, that is when we will get people to protect and conserve the beauty of our oceans.
By setting the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, countries and their leaders committed to achieving a truly sustainable world by the middle of this century. Today sustainability means compatibility and coexistence between economic development, care for the human dimension and preservation of the natural environment.
Mar de Fondo is firmly committed to complying with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs of health and well-being (3), quality education (4), climate action (13), underwater life (14) and a partnership to achieve the goals (17).
These are some results/impacts achieved in the last 2 years with the actions we do in Mar de Fondo, that show the commitment we have to reconnect people with nature through an active, healthy and environmentally conscious lifestyle.
Events / Actions: 25
Total People assisted: 1350
Educational programs: 5
Total Kids reached with our programs: 1546
Trained Watersports instructors: 19
Future Talks: 12
Kg of rubbish collected from the sea: 2345 Kg
*First place in the environmental award of the Calvia City Council
Let's work from education and awareness to take action. This is how we work, that is our purpose.
