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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
Lifestyle
London - Asharq Al-Awsat

Female 'Indiana Jones' Surf to Save the Planet

Hawaiian 'protest surfer' Alison Teal walks outside Buckingham Palace with her surfboard during a visit to London on March 6, 2020, to raise awareness on the need to combat climate change. (AFP/Olivier Morin)

Hawaiian adventurer and filmmaker Alison Teal is paddle-surfing along the River Thames in pink swimwear, fishing out plastic rubbish from the waters.

This happened just last month before half of humanity found itself confined at home. But their message remains valid: protect our planet.

Dubbed the "Female Indiana Jones" by Time magazine, Teal has dedicated her fame to preserve the environment and fight plastic pollution.

The young blonde adventurer, who is in her 30s, has a wide social media follower, and her aim is to "educate through entertainment".

Teal holds spontaneous events in unlikely spots, always in her signature pink eco-friendly suit made from recycled materials. These events aim at inspiring youngsters to act and raising awareness about the plastic wastes "killing our oceans".

Alison visited many countries. She surfed along the River Seine in Paris past the Eiffel Tower in 2018, and her last appearance was in the British capital in early March. A series of photos published to mark Earth Day featured Teal paddle surfing along the River Thames, collecting rubbish near the Kew Bridge, and standing near Buckingham Palace in her pink surfing suit.

For years, Alison Teal has been sharing amazing pictures for her adventures. She has published short films on her blog and social media, showing her diving to retrieve plastic from the ocean or paddling through stretches of rubbish from the Maldives to Los Angeles.

The young filmmaker, who is spending confinement in Hawaii, believes that "this is the time in history to recognize how interconnected we all are globally to improve our health for both humans and the planet."

"It's severely tragic the impact that the virus is having on people's lives," she told AFP. But she also highlighted a significant "reduction in oceans and air pollution" since the lockdown measures began in the world, and seemed optimistic about the capability to work on improving our planet's waterways and air quality.

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