Olivia Mandle, the young activist who protects marine animals

On June 8th, coinciding with World Oceans Day, a TEDxEixample talk took place at Aticco Bogatell with the young environmental activist Olivia Mandle. At just 15 years old, Olivia has devised a tool to clean microplastics from the sea and has launched various citizen initiatives to protect dolphins in Spain.

The protection of dolphins by Olivia Mandle

In 2020, and driven by the desire to protect marine animals, Olivia created a campaign on the Change.org platform asking the Barcelona City Council to move the three dolphins that were in captivity at the Barcelona Zoo to a Marine Sanctuary. During the talk organized by TEDxEixample, Olivia explained that dolphins are animals with great auditory sensitivity; that is why they suffer a lot of stress in aquariums and zoos. Although her campaign reached 56,000 signatures, it did not obtain the desired results. The dolphins were moved to another dolphinarium and not to a sanctuary as requested by the initiative.

Far from giving up, he launched a second, more ambitious campaign. As Mandle explained during the talk at Aticco:

“I never get discouraged, I know there are many people around me who are also interested in the same causes”

In this second campaign, which already has more than 116,000 signatures, the young activist is demanding a Law for the Scheduled Prohibition of dolphinariums in Spain from the Spanish Government. 

Dolphinariums are a multi-million dollar business in The dolphinariums are a multi-million dollar business in Spain, but for Olivia, the ecological transition that the Spanish government intends to carry out will not be complete as long as these facilities are allowed to exist: "Spain wants to be a leader in ecological transition and is taking steps towards sustainability, but it cannot be if it continues to allow these captivity facilities", added the speaker.

The microplastics problem and the Jelly Cleaner as a small-scale solution

In 2019, when she was very concerned about plastic pollution in the oceans, she designed a tool to remove microplastics from the sea. The so-called Jelly Cleaner, which looks like a jellyfish, filters this waste from the sea surface. Using old ballet tights and water bottles, she designed this tool that can be made at home with recycled materials. 

In addition, Olivia has the will to move other people and other boys and girls to support a more sustainable world. For this reason, she uploaded a video to her YouTube channel explaining how to create the Jelly Cleaner and how to use it.

Sustainability education

After her presentation, the activist answered questions from the public and the attending media, such as El Bien Social. With them, she discussed how we can make this world a more sustainable place. For Olivia, the solution undoubtedly lies in education. For this reason, she emphasized the work they do in her institute where all students are being trained in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the UN.

In this sense, Olivia argued that:

“My colleagues are aware because at school they have taught us the importance of sustainability from a young age.

«The SDGs are in the hallways of our institute, and we do projects in which we have to apply the SDGs. This way, we become aware and know much more. Now, when I tell them what I'm doing, we have a conversation and a reflection begins,” added Olivia. 

You can learn more about their #Noespaisparadelfines initiative at change.org