UMHLANGA’S eco-champ, Romario Valentine has been making waves this year in a fight for the environment.
Besides been actively involved in beach clean-ups on an almost weekly basis, he has also raised more than R25 000 for the Umgeni River Bird Park who were under financial strain due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Now he has been named an ambassador social enterprise, Ocean Sole, which upcycles washed up flip-flops found along the beaches and waterways in Kenya.
Valentine, who became Ocean Sole’s young ambassador, recently received a turtle made from flip-flops said it has inspired him to spread his message of conservation as far and wide as possible.
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The Reddam Holuse Umhlanga learner was selected by Ocean Sole as they share the same vision, creating art from pollutants and raising awareness of the dangers facing the ocean.
“I was delighted when they reached out and sent me a turtle made from 30 flip-flops. I’ve highlighted with my clean-ups and my art the dangers of plastic to ocean life, especially turtles who often swallow plastic thinking they are jellyfish. I feel very strongly about the environment and my goal is to inspire other people to think about the environment especially when they are disposing of rubbish on the beach,” the youngster explained.
Valentine said he has ambitions of becoming a scientist in the future and said his environmental work was inspired by a school play.
“I was an orca (killer whale) in a school play when I was six years old. I did a bit of research on killer whales, other marine life, and seabirds and that’s when I discovered the threat the ocean is facing due to pollutants such as plastic,” he said.
Valentine then embarked on a ‘Save Our Ocean’ project which started in July 2017 and to date he has done 128 beach clean-ups.
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