Alexia Barrier
Solo sailing superhero
Alexia Barrier is a solo-sailing marvel! She raced her boat 4myplanet around the world alone. Whilst sailing across the Ocean, Alexia collects vital data on the state of the world’s most remote ocean areas.
Back on dry land, she has educated 20,000 young people about better protecting the ocean. It is the actions of the children she inspires that gives her hope for the future.
“Young people understand what they can do, and they have many ideas. They want to act now,” Alexia tells us.
Giving back to the ocean
Alexia can pinpoint the moment she decided to do something and give back to the ocean.
“I was sailing off the coast of England, but before I could see land, the smell of waste hit me – there was so much rubbish,” Alexia says.
The shock of seeing the water so polluted marked a turning point for Alexia, and the same year she founded 4myplanet.
“I want to help the health of the ocean as much as I can. I want to be a tool for science when I’m sailing”.
Changing by doing
As she sails the high seas in races, Alexia’s boat collects ocean temperature and salinity data, which is then sent to scientists via satellite.
She also drops remote sensors into the ocean which collect information from the wild southern oceans. These are remote places that very few ships go to.
The data that Alexia collects helps scientists around the world better understand the ocean. It even helps predict the weather with more accuracy.
Alexia and the 4myplanet team are ‘citizen scientists.’ Anyone can be a citizen scientist. You don’t need degrees, or white coats – just a passion to be a part of something big.
Citizen science allows larger data sets to be collected by scientists.
It’s a great way to get involved in science and understand more about a project.
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