ABOUT US
Paddle4Plastic was founded by Natalia Zajac in 2017. You can also call her Talia or NJ, just don’t call her Natalie or Nat, or she might throw you into trash we collect every month. Talia’s journey to fighting climate change one paddle at a time started with her own self-care journey. It began with taking steps to improve her own health first, which led her to choosing a vegan lifestyle, and her vegan lifestyle led to learning more about environmental issues.
One day at Costco, she started eyeing a kayak, because it reminded her of family vacations and she always wanted one of her own. So, after lusting after it for a few months, it finally went on sale and she took it as a sign. Once she finally figured out how to get it in her car (she’s still not totally sure how she made that work), she took it down to King Harbor for her first paddle and immediately was moved by the peace it brought her—just a girl and her kayak…and a bunch of trash out on the water. It was almost perfect. She found the usual plastic bottles and bags you’d expect (sadly), but also the most random things like shoes and mattress toppers. Mattress toppers??? She grabbed as much of it as she could but didn’t have anywhere to contain all the trash. So, from that day forward, each time she paddled out she brought something she could use to hold the trash she picked up, be it bucket or bicycle basket.
That year for her birthday, she ran a Facebook campaign to raise support for her new cause and invited friends out to join her in “paddling for plastic.” Some folks made generous donations, which she used to purchase extendable pool skimmers and trash pickers. Olympus Board Shop also donated old kayaks for volunteers to use. And that friends, is how Paddle4Plastic was born.
We hope you’ll join us on our next paddle out! It’s fun, meaningful, and a great way to bond with the community.
Please subscribe to our newsletter and follow our social media platforms to stay up to date on our next paddle outs.
One day at Costco, she started eyeing a kayak, because it reminded her of family vacations and she always wanted one of her own. So, after lusting after it for a few months, it finally went on sale and she took it as a sign. Once she finally figured out how to get it in her car (she’s still not totally sure how she made that work), she took it down to King Harbor for her first paddle and immediately was moved by the peace it brought her—just a girl and her kayak…and a bunch of trash out on the water. It was almost perfect. She found the usual plastic bottles and bags you’d expect (sadly), but also the most random things like shoes and mattress toppers. Mattress toppers??? She grabbed as much of it as she could but didn’t have anywhere to contain all the trash. So, from that day forward, each time she paddled out she brought something she could use to hold the trash she picked up, be it bucket or bicycle basket.
That year for her birthday, she ran a Facebook campaign to raise support for her new cause and invited friends out to join her in “paddling for plastic.” Some folks made generous donations, which she used to purchase extendable pool skimmers and trash pickers. Olympus Board Shop also donated old kayaks for volunteers to use. And that friends, is how Paddle4Plastic was born.
We hope you’ll join us on our next paddle out! It’s fun, meaningful, and a great way to bond with the community.
Please subscribe to our newsletter and follow our social media platforms to stay up to date on our next paddle outs.