At Pangaea, our 2 part mission, anchored in a wonderfully powerful phrase by the Lorax, guides everything that we do.
1. To actively strengthen the health of marine life through Exploration, Conservation and Education work.
2. To inspire and develop a new generation of leaders in conservation science, communication, education, art and policy leadership.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get Better. It’s not” – The Lorax, Dr. Seuss
As a team we have made an important decision to increase our role in connecting a much broader group of people to our oceans. We have seen a tremendous opportunity to deliver on our mission in reaching out beyond dedicated environmentalists and professional scientists. While these people are vital to our ocean future, there is a much larger, more diverse group of people that want to learn, feel, experience and commit to the ocean in their own way.
While we will continue to actively support professional environmental and science teams, Pangaea will make an active turn to this broader group of citizen explorers. For us this means a real investment in three areas
– Oceanic Experiences. Expeditions engaging a much broader set of personal goals including our favorite… just wanting to see what it feels like to be in the middle of the ocean 🙂
– School Expeditions. From Cleveland to the Caribbean, our crew has been blown away by the impact and positive energy in getting youth out to sea.
– Training Mariners. Professional, highly authentic expeditions to immerse, build skills and confidence in the huge range of people wanting to sail and travel at sea.
The first builds on our great success with eXXpedition, Exploring Mindsets, artists and the reality of every trip we do. People that go to sea always increase their understanding, compassion and conviction to protect the marine environment. The lifetime value of the experience is often equal or greater to the technical mission work. It is in many ways easier to go to remote landscapes than to experience the wild ocean. This will mean active partnerships with broader adventure travel groups and connecting into people that want to invest personally in great outdoor, oceanic experiences.
The second is an undeniable path to our future. We know that bringing a positive inspiration to our kids can change lives and the world that will be theirs. We also believe that the best way to get to us adults – however jaded and hardened in our views – is thru our kids. We may never hear what an environmentalist tells us, but will always listen to the thoughts of our children. This will mean a much greater emphasis on developing partnerships with schools and educational institutions that can help organize well structured experiences.
The third is about giving people an honest chance to build their ability and skill in going to sea. Going beyond passenger to crew…to mariner instantly connects us to a tradition of the sea. Teaching mariners is perhaps the oldest, most authentic and reliable way to build ocean conservationists. We see a huge range of people that want to learn “how to do it”…sail, navigate, care for crew, plan expeditions and lead teams. This is a practical, hands on determination often by people that want the skills, that have boats but want experience, that sail by the coast and want to cross oceans, that want to apprentice and share with others. We are particularly excited connect people to the tremendous experience of our primary crew Eric Loss and Shanley Mcentee. This will mean dedicated “sail training” expeditions and active alliances with Yacht Clubs and established sailing institutions like the UK’s RYA.
Part of this change will be some new staff roles dedicated to developing these areas. We are on the watch for a bright, entrepreneurial leader that make this happen. Driving the Pangaea’s next chapter will be a challenge in practically building concepts, relationships and ultimately getting people connected to Sea Dragon and real expeditions. If you know this person…send them our way! More details here.
For the last six years we have well over 100,000 miles at sea crossing four oceans from Namibia to Tokyo – and the vast inland Great Lakes as far in and up as Chicago. As we sail and engage we constantly try to take a critical, progressive view of what we do. We believe that adding real focus on these three areas positions Pangaea to be an even stronger force for ocean conservation.