Earth Month is a time to raise awareness around the issues that affect our planet and those who are working diligently to help protect it
With this special time of year, we thought it was a good time to catch up with our Junior Ambassador, Ryan Hickman! Between working through his first year of high school and keeping up with his recycling efforts, Ryan is a busy guy, but as enthusiastic as ever about the effort we need to make to help our planet.
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How has the first year of high school been so far?!
So far so good! The homework is harder, but I still have all A’s. I play the violin so I have been involved more this year with orchestra performances.
What does Earth Month mean to you?
Earth month is a good time to highlight what we should do all year actually. I’m really busy this time of year with interviews and photoshoot stuff since a lot of my partners are highlighting what I do. I like this time of year because it’s cool to see people focusing on our planet.
Tell us about your newest endeavor: 5 in 5
Well, you know I do a lot of beach cleanups with my nonprofit, Project3R. This weekend starts our five beach cleanups in 5 weekends. We’re starting near LAX Airport in Los Angeles and heading South to Mexico. We’re hoping to get a great turnout at each event, and I’ll be posting photos and sharing on social media with everyone who can’t make it out. I think if we get a positive response to the 5 in 5 tour, we’ll be doing more like this in the future and maybe we’ll be able to partner with organizations to take the idea to other areas.
Tell us a bit about Project3R
Project3R is my nonprofit that I started a few years ago to help spread the word and to educate people on taking care of our environment. I live by the beach so it makes sense to highlight ocean pollution awareness but the idea of taking care of our planet can be anywhere there is pollution. Project3R has a small team that partners with schools and we provide in classroom education and also field trips to the beach where we partner with an organization that has a boat and we take kids out to do a beach clean up and on the boat to see the whales, dolphins, sea lions, etc. I’m excited to grow Project3R bigger and to get more reach around the world. We’re taking with a few organization now to potentially spread our impact globally.
We are only 4 months into the year, but you have already been very busy with some big beach cleanups and speaking events this year! Tell us a bit about these
We’ve done three big beach clean ups so far this year. We did one a few weeks ago with our local NHL teams (Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings) and we picked up 858 lbs of trash from Long beach, California. I also lead a recycle drive on GREEN NIGHT for the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Speaking events… I’ve done an event with Bahya Group a few months back and another smaller event for the Sons of the American Revolution in Irvine, California. I’ve spoke to a bunch of schools too. I’ll probably speak at a few corporate events this summer.
NHL Beach Cleanup with the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings, Monday April 1, 2024. Photo Courtesy of Ryan Hickman.
Ryan sorting the collected items at the NHL Beach Cleanup with the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings, Monday April 1, 2024. Photo Courtesy of Ryan Hickman.
Ryan doing the ceremonial puck drop for the LA Kings, April 11, 2024. Photo Courtesy of Ryan Hickman.
Alright, now for an update on everyone’s favorite question – what are some of the recent weird or funny items that you have collected this year?
Hmmm… I always find find abandoned beach toys and sometimes in the dirtier beaches I find stuff like needles which of course are scary. I find the occasional AirPod or iPhone or car keys. Sometimes I find money. I’ve found a lot of tennis balls this year for some reason!
Ryan at a recent Beach Cleanup with his nonprofit, Project3R. Photo Courtesy of Ryan Hickman
Thank you so much for chatting with us, Ryan!
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We are so excited to continue working with Ryan, his family, and his team, and to collaborate on getting the word out about sustainability and greener waste practices! Stay tuned for updates on Ryan’s 5 in 5 initiative.
In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about Ryan, you can visit the Ryan’s Recycling website (ryansrecycling.com), or connect with him and his team on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!
You can also read a great article about Ryan’s 5 in 5 endeavor in an article written by Erika I. Ritchie with The Orange County Register here
