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[thepoison-theapple]

Introduction to · Introduction à Taylor Penzes

Hi, I’m Taylor!

For the past few months, I’ve been working under The Poison and The Apple, as a co-founder of Project Snorkel. In this blog, I’ll be touching on where I’ve come from, why it was important to create Project Snorkel, as well as the impact that Project Snorkel and the team at The Poison and The Apple has left on me.

I recently graduated into the rewarding field of Social Work, once I started my university career, I found myself wanting to create my own business – something that bridges the gap between social work and the environment, somewhere where people could use nature as their wholistic healer.

Over my four years studying at Wilfrid Laurier University, I noticed the parks were littered with waste, beaches were covered with plastic water bottles, and trails were peppered with cans. Everywhere people were allowed to go to for free was not well taken care of.

I wanted to bring people together with the environment, but our environment has also been so damaged by people, and I didn’t think our land had healed from our dangerous impacts.

But what about the underwater environment? As a past river guide, I noticed that the rivers were polluted with shopping carts, beer cans, food wrappings. These items were found both where outdoor hobbyists went through daily, but also remotely, where it’s unlikely to find any human activity.

Our shoreline collects everything that the floats on the water’s surface, but what about items that sink or that are too heavy to be carried away with floods?

Curtis, Project Snorkel’s co-founder and I spent last summer travelling throughout the country. We dove under waterfalls, where items easily became out of grasp from the owner’s hand. We collected over 15 things in a span of 15 minutes and decided to invest in an underwater metal detector to help us find things that lie beneath the substrate.

Curtis and Chuk met in the Ocean Bridge 2018 cohort after a memorable wilderness expedition in Haida Gwaii. Since then, they’ve been inseparable since and I’ve gotten to know Chuk both on a personal and professional level which I feel very grateful for.

After being accepted into the 2019 Ocean Bridge cohort, I developed friendships that would lend me the support I needed to bring Project Snorkel to light.

After reaching out to Chuk about this opportunity, he welcomed us to our team with open arms; we’ve gotten to be a very close-knit small team and I feel inspired by the work that Samantha and Chuk have done at The Poison and The Apple. Their perseverance and determination to make this non-for-profit be successful is like no other.

I’ve also been introduced to some kindred souls throughout the project: Vivian Walsh and Sam Kilpatrick have been a bright light in bringing Project Snorkel to the surface. Vivian has worked with us to organize our posts, schedules and timelines whilst Sam has photographed our cleanups so beautifully. Who knew picking up garbage could look so good?

As for logistics, with Chùk’s help, Curtis and I were able to register under his non-for-profit to apply for federal and provincial funding. We are mentored, pushed to reach outside of our comfort zones and guided throughout this process by both Chuk and Sam and are very thankful for the connections that we have made throughout this process.

Over the past few cleanups, we’ve brought together family, friends and new friends in both our home community of Brantford and remotely. We’ve also had a surprise visit from one of my fellow cohort members, Brody. I’ve been enjoying bringing together people who wouldn’t normally attend events like this, yet seeing their eyes light up when they hit a “GOLD MINE” of garbage aka my uncle Shawn.

The Poison and The Apple has brought together inspiring, bright, innovative people and has brought us together to create friendships and connections that will last.

Through it all, the team has been able to connect and hear one another out in times of happiness and frustration- we’re all in it together.

As for Project Snorkel, we have our last cleanup happening tomorrow morning in Goderich Ontario. We are both sad and excited, but it’s time to start a new chapter of our life (p.s. speaking of chapters, The Forces of Nature is available for download) and bring new ideas to the surface.

We absolutely cannot wait to see what new initiatives The Poison and The Apple brings to the table in the future and how they can help our beautiful home, Canada.