The 4th Interregional Learning Event (ILE) of the CAPonLITTER project, was hosted by IU-ECOAQUA, Univ. of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Spanish partner of CAPonLITTER and it took place on 2nd December 2020. This event featured presentations from all the project partners, regarding the theme “The role of local communities, how to improve awareness of beach-users and the citizen science in preventing, managing and monitoring marine litter in coastal sites”.
Ana Pego was the invited stakeholder by PP2 – Environmental Portuguese Agency, to present her amazing work, at the aforementioned event.
Living since she was little, right next to the beach, Ana Pêgo`s interest and curiosity for the sea never left her. She studied Marine Biology and Fisheries at the University of Algarve and worked for some years on research projects, always linked to the oceans: first, in the area of Fisheries, at the University of Algarve; later, as a Laboratory Technician at the Guia Maritime Laboratory (MARE/FCUL), in Cascais.
Since 2012, Ana Pêgo has been mainly dedicated to environmental education projects, where she combines science with art, with the aim of making the life of the seas known and sensitizing people to the conservation of the oceans, in particular the problem of plastic waste. It was in this context that in 2015 she created the Plasticus maritimus project, which is also a Facebook and Instagram page, where she reports on his discoveries.
If you want to know better the work of Ana Pego you may watch some of her workshops and exhibitions here:
https://www.facebook.com/100047053209953/videos/771185553753355
Her splendid Balaena plasticus https://vimeo.com/97323054 is a sculpture made of white plastic bottles caught by Ana at the beaches; it gained the prize B Green Innovation Award - Greenfest2015
“Plasticus maritimus, an invasive species”, the book that Ana Pêgo wrote with Isabel Minhós Martins, was illustrated by Bernardo P. Carvalho, edited by Planeta Tangerina in 2018. It is recommended in the National Reading Plan - for children - and is published in 10 languages.
The book has been distinguished with several prizes: Honorable Mention - Bologna Ragazzi Awards by the International Children´s Book Fair in Bologna (2020); nominated BD Amadora Award: Best Portuguese Ilustration Book Designer (2029); 2021 Outstanding Science Trade Book (USA); nominated Sorcières French Literary Prize (2021); nominated Ecological Youth Book, at the Festival du Livre et de la Presse dÈcologie 2021 (Fr).
Photos: Ana Pêgo
