Sport met environment at the launch event of the BLUE Climate and Oceans exhibition at Westminster yesterday as Olympic Minister, the Rt. Hon Tessa Jowell MP and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP both made pledges to be BLUE.
The exhibition which was attended by ministers, sustainable energy business leaders, Olympic representatives and sports ambassadors focused on how sport can be a mechanism to engage with people to actively care about sustaining our water environments.
Ocean sailor and founder of The BLUE Project, Conrad Humphreys welcomed the ministers before speaking about the relationship between sport and the environment and how activity can be a gateway for people to interact with our natural resources. A core element of the project is to use the popularity of sports that showcase the natural environment and iconic BLUE Ambassadors acting as champions for the environment to mobilise a community into being far more active in reducing their impact on our climate and oceans.
With awareness of climate change running at record levels, still a quarter of the population remain unconcerned and the gulf between awareness and individual action to reduce our effect still remains high. The BLUE Project is focused on initiatives to encourage more people to take action.
One of the big project ideas to engage our communites that was showcased at the exhibition called The BLUE® Mile, is a mass participation event designed to bring together our coastal communities in the
Speaking at the launch event Hilary Benn said: “It’s astonishing what you have achieved, with initiatives like this that get people involved we have a better chance of making sure that we live in harmony with the Earth, whether on the green of the land or the blue of the sea.”
Tessa Jowell said: “By 2012 this has the potential to be engaging 100,000’s of children all over the world and I feel privileged to witness the beginning. It’s such a pleasure to be here today and I’m looking forward to competing my BLUE mile next year.”
Rob Gauntlet, youngest Everest climber and 180 Degree Pole to Pole adventurer said: “This project is young, fresh, ambitious and adventurous. Instead of just discussing the issues, the project get’s people directly involved.”
Offering her own BLUE Pledge, Linda Gilroy, Minister for Plymouth Sutton commented: “We have almost 100% awareness in this country, but its converting that awareness into action that is the challenge.”
Founder of the BLUE Project, and triple-round-the-world sailor, Conrad Humphreys said: “It was Jacques Cousteau that said, People protect what they love and if we can help engender a passion for the environment through the activities of our tremendous sportsmen and women we will be able to make a measureable change for the better to our water environments.”
Lady Pippa Blake, Patron of The Blue Project said: “This is a project that I hope will engage with people across a wide spectrum. People are very passionate about sport and the arts and having a healthy environment is important to both. I’m very pleased that The BLUE Project is getting this recognition and we look forward to working with all of you in the future.”
To find out more go to: http://www.theblueproject.org
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