Sick of reading interviews with the same Instagram influencers over and over? Same. Here’s something fresher to inspire you—Real Girls Doing Cool Shit. It’s exactly what you think: an interview with a young Aussie woman just like you, telling us about the very cool, impactful stuff she’s creating and the issues she is most passionate about. Read, get inspired, do the things.
Note to all of our selves: Small actions can have a big impact. Daisy Kermodeis taking on the mammoth task of helping to alleviate the world oceans crisis. How’s she doing it? By focusing on one relatively simple thing: cleaning up the beaches.
Daisy founded the WA-based group Coastal Cleanup Crew, with a mission to ‘save the seas one piece of rubbish at a time’. Her crew has held over 90 beach cleanup sessions at various Perth locations, getting their hands dirty (literally) to clean up the mess that others leave.
If you’ve ever wondered if one person can truly make a difference, Daisy is here as your proof. In this #RGDCS interview she talks about tuning out negativity, the benefit of being stubborn and the small things you can do right now that will change the world.
Daisy Kermode, Founder of Coastal Cleanup Crew
Zee Feed: Can you tell us a little bit about what you ‘do’ day to day—work, study, socially and otherwise?
Daisy Kermode: My day-to-day life is very busy by choice, I love doing things! I attend university full-time, studying a Bachelor of Science majoring in Marine and Freshwater Science and Conservation Biology, so I’m in and out of labs and lectures for that.
During the last uni holidays in the three-month summer break I hiked part of the Cape-to-Cape hike for five days, camping and doing a rubbish clean-up the whole way; took road trip to Esperance for 10 amazing days; went to Bali and Lombok to volunteer at a turtle sanctuary; and also did a turtle tagging project on Barrow Island (northern WA) for two weeks, doing nightshift turtle patrols and collecting data; and then spent a month travelling around New Zealand with my boyfriend. No wasted time there!
My hobbies are mostly scuba diving, exercise (I like circuits, boxing, and running), yoga and just being near the ocean. I try to swim in it every day, and I love watching the sunset over the Indian Ocean whenever I can.
I also have multiple casual jobs that align with my values, so I am very happy and grateful for that!
ZF: Geez you’re a busy gal! What made you want to start a clean-up group amongst all of that?
DK: I joined a mermaid yoga retreat in Exmouth in Year 11, and was very inspired by Kate Nelson @plasticfreemermaid—she lives completely plastic-free. And just noticing the human pollution on the beaches… I attended Sea Shepherd marine debris clean-ups in Perth and was astonished by the amount of rubbish a group of people can remove in an hour. I’d always thought Perth beaches were clean, but I was proven wrong—I learnt the currents wash in debris from all over the world, as well as the naughty litter bugs that are still around! It was very eye-opening.
But I noticed their clean-ups weren’t very regular and I wanted to make it a weekly voluntary hobby of mine, so I created the group Coastal Cleanup Crew with a few friends and now it’s expanded!
ZF: Tell us about the Coastal Cleanup crew now—how does it work, how many people typically get involved, how often do you do it?
DK: I started the Coastal Cleanup Crew with just a couple of friends a year and a half ago, but now there are heaps of people—say 30, but more often it’s 10 to 15. And people chop and change depending on other commitments. The other week we did a cleanup in Scarborough for cleanup Australia day and we ad over 60 people so that was great!
We aim to do at least one clean-up each week on a Sunday morning or Thursday evening, but in summer it can be more. This year a couple of good friends volunteered to do south of the river clean-ups, because [the rest of us] mostly live north and used to drive down to Cottesloe and Freo. It means we can have a north clean-up and a south clean-up on the same day! We always advertise the upcoming dates on Facebook and Instagram.
ZF: I love the posts on Instagram showing all the weird things you find on the clean-ups. What are some of the craziest things you’ve found?
DK: A shopping trolley, a surfboard, and gross things you don’t want to hear about! I found a Coke can from 1993 one time. Also a queen-sized mattress buried in the sand dunes.
ZF: How did you transition from thinking, “This could be a cool idea” to actually committing and doing it?
DK: I just started doing it, and I’m naturally passionate and quite persistent… or stubborn?! I love the feeling after we have cleaned up, and it’s a great feeling to have groups of people working together for a good cause!
ZF: What have been some of the biggest surprises or proudest moments you’ve had with Coastal Cleanup?
DK: We received a grant from Keep Australia Beautiful, which was really cool. But some of the best surprises have been how keen young children are to get involved in helping, it’s very inspiring. I have so many people interested in joining and helping out, and they reach out to me which is so brilliant! Gives me hope that people do care and value our natural world.
ZF: What are some of the biggest challenges that you’ve faced?
DK: Some people get burnt out facing issues like this—you spend so much effort on one place and then a month later you go back and it’s just as bad again. I was lucky to have my big break over summer where a couple of friends really took over and ran it very well for me, giving me a break. Basically, I feel like any rubbish you remove, makes a difference! And when other people see you picking up litter, they feel more inclined to do it to so it creates a domino effect of cleaning up and protecting our environment.
ZF: What would you love to see Coastal Cleanup achieve in the next few years? And what do you want to achieve, personally?
DK: I’d love to see Coastal Cleanup spread even more so that there are multiple clean-ups every weekend all around Perth, so that the public see how hard we work and pay more attention to their own littering habits and plastic use in general. I’d like to give more leadership opportunities to more people to run their own clean-ups too.
In the next five years, I aim to finish my degree and qualify as a dive master so that I can live up in Exmouth, working on a boat—a whale watching, whale shark or scuba diving boat would be the dream! Ultimately I’d love a job where I can educate people about how to look after and protect the ocean and all of it’s life, while exploring and appreciating it at the same time for my own happiness!
ZF: Do you ever feel that people underestimate you, and what you want to achieve?
DK: I try not to focus on negative people. They are always around, but I choose to look at the good things we are accomplishing and focus on the goals we have in mind. Anything is always better than nothing! I pretty much just ignore the negativity.
ZF: What’s the one thing that you wish other young people really understood?
DK: That one person can most definitely make a difference. If we all make small changes, it can change the future. It can seem overwhelming but if you keep doing your part and spreading positivity with your message, it attracts others. We must address our dependence on plastic now. Plastic breaks down, then down, then down. [There are] so many statistics about marine birds and mammals having their stomachs full of plastic—well, the more you choose to refuse plastic, the less there is in the ocean for them to eat!
ZF: Any suggestions for ways we can help right away, like, tomorrow?
DK: So many ways: always leaving a beach cleaner than it was when you arrived; to switching to non plastic soaps, shampoos, deodorants; buying unwrapped fruit and veggies; not spending money on fast fashion and just educating yourself on plastic free living. There are so many options now.
ZF: Now for the recommendations! What are some of the your favourite social accounts to follow to keep you inspired and focused on your mission?
DK: Definitely Kate (@plasticfreemermaid), her website is iquitplastics.com. There are a lot of zero waste accounts to follow which give you great tips on how to avoid plastic in day-to-day life. Instagram is a great resource. Follow the Sea Shepherd Marine Derbis team… and follow Coastal Cleanup Crew!
Here’s my list:
- @sustainable_living_au
- @speakupforblue
- @theearthysoul
- @sharkgirlmadison
- @take3forthesea
- @seashepherdaumarinedebris
- @kabcwa (Keep Australia beautiful WA, but there is probably a national account too.)
- @tangaroablue – these guys really, really helped me out.
- @zerowasteinspo
- @5minutebeachcleanup