Photo: Supplied.
BY ERIKA HEPPLE
Sarah Steenland is a baysider with a love of sailing and a flair for creating cartoons. Drawing on these two passions, Sarah has produced a fun comic book educating young people about plastic waste in the ocean.
“I really got my connection with the ocean just by growing up here. I used to go sailing on my dad’s boat with my two brothers, spending weekends on the islands, camping and exploring the bayside,” said Sarah.
Years later, Sarah lived on a boat in the marina at Manly with her young family. “We love the sailing life and decided to set
sail cruising up north. The further north we sailed heading for Asia, the more plastic waste we saw floating past us on the ocean. We found turtles tangled in fishing nets.“
These sailing experiences led the family to set up The Sea Monkey Project, focused on ocean plastic solutions and education. Daughter Sydney is the project founder. “Sydney in particular is in love with nature and the ocean,” explained Sarah. “She gave her first public talk on reducing single use plastics when she was just thirteen.” Three years on, Sydney has shared her environmental message with more than 9,000 people in her workshops.
Sarah contributes through her cartooning, beginning with interactive cartoon activities for Sydney to use during school talks.
“The ideas sink in more when kids have some activities to engage with,” said Sarah.
These pages of puzzles and activities have grown into the Comic Book Guide to Plastic, an informative story, colouring and activity book for children aged four to 12 years. Sales of the book fund more education workshops by The Sea Monkey Project.
From a fun hobby, Sarah has developed her cartooning skills into a full-time career. As The Cruising Cartoonist, she creates cartoons for businesses and non-profits. “Cartooning is my dream job, and it is also a way to connect with people and see how we can make a difference to our environment.”
For more information about The Cruising Cartoonist go to www.sarahsteenland.com.
