Oly Rush & Project Planet Earth: Project Ithaca

Donations now closed for this project! Contact us via the website if you wish to donate to the charity. Thank you! 

Oly Rush, Founder of Project Planet Earth and keen swimmer, is raising awareness on the fight against plastic pollution across the world.

Oly and the team of volunteers at Project Planet Earth organise beach cleans, school talks and events to raise awarensss and inspire impact in others to look after our world and our ocean. Read on, in Oly's words, for his next great adventure..!

"In September this year I’ll be attempting my own personal Odyssey by swimming, non stop, around the Greek Island of Ithaca.

The swim is expected to take somewhere between 22/28 hours and cover approximately 75 kilometres. Mine is a much smaller adventure than the 10 years of Odysseus’ plight but nonetheless, a challenging test in distance and logistics - a difficult challenge to take on.

In my journey, not only will I face the monsters, sirens and giants of changing sea conditions, physical and mental tiredness, the darkness of night and the strong winds of Odysseus’ homeland. I will take inspiration from his tale of courage, determination and strong friendships, to overcome the trials of this mini Odyssey.

The passion and drive for this swim comes from a deep obsession and love of the ocean, a desire to do more and to inspire others to better protect this fragile planet.

This time, my swim is supporting the incredible work that non profit Healthy Seas has been doing in Ithaca and we are keen to back their future clean up projects on the island and in the Ionian Sea for the removal of killer ghost nets.

At Project Planet Earth our focus is primarily on the ocean and it’s many issues including plastic pollution. Our goal is to inspire others to be custodians of this planet, rather than bystanders to its degradation. Whether your passion lies in the ocean, the many species of animals that desperately need our help, or in educating others to environmental issues, whichever your personal journey, the time to act is now.

At the end of this adventure, like in Odysseus’ homecoming, I will be feeling like a tired old man brought to shore by the sea, but full of joy and happiness to have worked on a personal challenge and defeated many of the monsters along the way to give something back to this beautiful planet.

Thanks to GreenFolk covering the cost of the swim. All the fundraising proceeds will be split between Project Planet and Heathy Seas.

Please, however small or indeed big, your donation will help us continue our fight against plastic pollution, but beyond that, we want to inspire others to join the journey with its obstacles, trials and triumphs. So if you can please donate, share and help us look after our home. Thank you.”

Read more about us at: https://projectplanet.earth/

About Healthy Seas:

Healthy Seas is an international non-profit organisation whose mission is to remove waste from the seas, in particular fishing nets, for the purpose of creating healthier seas and recycling marine litter into textile products. The recovered fishing nets will be transformed and regenerated by Aquafil, together with other nylon waste, into ECONYL® yarn, a high-quality raw material used to create new products, such as socks, swimwear, sportswear or carpets. Since its founding in 2013, Healthy Seas has collected over 905 tons of fishing nets and other marine litter with the help of volunteer divers and fishers.

https://www.healthyseas.org/