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Mission - clean oceans
Our beginning? A tragic end. In 2019, a whale washed up in the Philippines. Dead. Because it had 40 kilograms of plastic in its belly. A sight that tears hearts and opens eyes. At that moment, it was clear to Basti: the ocean needs us. And it needs us NOW.
We, that is Basti and Lukas. The name Pro Ocean is no coincidence. Our heart beats for the oceans. We like them without plastic and other waste.
- We want sand instead of plastic between our toes.
- We prefer to listen to the sound of waves instead of the crackle of plastic.
- We want to hear seagulls screeching instead of deadly silence.
- And we prefer to look at coral reefs instead of mountains of garbage.
Vision - blue oceans
Finished? We are far from it.
Our goal? By 2030, we want to:
- rid the entire island of Negros in the Philippines of waste.
- expand our team and create more secure jobs.
- inspire and educate more and more school children.
- protect mangrove forests and ecosystems.
- offer the local population another source of income – for example through ecotourism.
- save even more whales, dolphins, turtles, birds and fish from death by ocean plastic.
Our motto: Don’t talk, but do.
With Pro Ocean, we’ve been advocating for people, animals and plants living on and in the ocean ever since.
- We offer local people secure, fairly paid jobs and create change through togetherness.
- We launch educational projects and explain to children what discarded plastic can do.
- We tackle the causes of ocean plastic and other waste where it’s created – on land.
- We’re saving animals from death by ocean plastic and protecting mangrove forests.
A lot has happened since we launched in 2019. What does it look like today?
We now have a team of 12 employees – in Germany and on site in the Philippines. Together with our community, we have collected more than 98 tons of ocean plastic and saved more than 49 tons of CO2 through recycling.
Our crew for the oceans
Bastian
Founder und CEO
Basti is the creative mastermind behind Pro Ocean. After an apprenticeship as a precision mechanic and his studies in business administration, Basti has worked as an industrial climber in Australia and Germany. He has repaired the Sydney Opera House and built and maintained wind turbines in Germany.
At a Stuttgart start up, he worked as Manager of Finance. Since 2020, Basti has also been a lecturer in ocean sculpture at a university in southern Germany.
Favorite water spot: Die Strände el Pais, Kolumbien
Lukas
Co-Founder und COO
Lukas has been with Pro Ocean from the beginning and developed the idea together with Basti. Lukas started working for the climate protection organization atmosfair while he was still studying industrial engineering at the TU Berlin. After about 10 years in Berlin and 5 years at atmosfair, Lukas is now back in the south and takes care of the organization and technical project management at Pro Ocean.
Favorite water spot: Die Strände von little corn island, Nicaragua
Jane
Sustainability Strategist und Projekmanagerin
Jane is our education expert and responsible for the Pro Ocean education project. With her expertise in sustainable development, she has been central to building and expanding our work on Negros. With her SDG expertise, she has been wonderful in developing the monitoring and development of our project. When she's not working for Pro Ocean, you're sure to find Jane on the Spree with her SUP.
Favorite water spot: Scarborough Beach, Australien
Aljoscha
Data Lead
Aljoscha or simply Joschi is our newest member at Pro Ocean. His hobbyhorse is data and therefore he mainly takes care of our Pro Ocean database. All information and pictures about our collection and recycling activities are stored and maintained there. Despite his love for numbers and statistics, Joschi is also a great team member.
Favorite water spot: Breitenbach, Baden-Württemberg
Rose-Ann
Team Lead Negros
Rose-Ann joined Pro Ocean in 2021 and leads our collection team on Negros. She plans the different clean-ups and takes care of all organizational things on site. She is particularly interested in getting in touch with the local people and making them aware of the importance of healthy marine ecosystems.
Favorite water spot: Turtle Island Beach, Negros
Marvin
Truck Driver Negros
Marvin is the driver of our team on Negros. He is responsible for the transportation of the team and all important collection equipment. Marvin goes swimming and fishing in the ocean every morning before work and is therefore very proud to be able to contribute to the protection of the ocean.
Favorite water spot: Uzi’s Beach, Negros
Stefan
Technical Advisor
After a few years in Canada, Stefan has now landed back in Germany. He studied mechanical engineering and has now pitched his tents at CureVac after his time at Bombardier. He supports us with all technical aspects especially around our collection and recycling project and is a founding member of Pro Ocean.
Favorite water spot: St. Lawrence Strom, Kanada
Daniel
Backend Developer
Daniel is our man for the backend. He supports us in building our databases and all the tools we need for our work with Pro Ocean. Together with Jane he forms our "Team Berlin".
When he's not building a new tool for us, you'll probably find him at some concert in Berlin or in the Green Mecklenburg.
Favorite water spot: Kalksee, Brandenburg
Susanne
Supervisory Board
Susanne loves nature and has seen a lot of the world. She has worked in very different areas and brings a lot of experience and a large network with her. As a member of the supervisory board, she keeps in mind that the goals of Life e.V. and Pro Ocean remain the focus of the work and is always available with critical but constructive advice.
Favorite water spot: Titicacasee, Bolivien