Conservation with Frank Heidinger

Welcome to Sangu Stories!

We are collaborating with Frank Heidinger, founder of Halevai and conservationist, to take creative efforts in preserving the environment by aligning conservation with the needs of the local communities for a sustainable future. In this episode, Frank shares with us different initiatives and collaborative efforts within Fari Islands.

To read more about Halevai, visit their website. 

For any further information or assistance, please contact Aminath.Haadhee@ritzcarlton.com , Marketing Communications Manager.

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For more information about The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, visit our website

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Transcript

Mark Hehir: 0:01

Welcome to Sangu stories. In this episode, it will be my pleasure to introduce you to Frank Heidinger with whom we are collaborating to protect the planet with a strong commitment and creative solutions. The Fari Archipelago brings thinkers, artists, filmmakers, and scientific communities together to create a meaningful impact and awareness within the globe. Today, we are delighted to invite Frank to talk more about the conservation in Fari Islands and how this brings light to our common vision to protect our planet earth. Hi Frank, It's great to have you on the podcast today. Uh, so many things happening every day. We seem to be talking about different parts of this amazing project. I really wanted to let people know more about the collaboration and how it was first initiated right from the start.

Frank Heidinger: 0:52

Good morning. It's great to be here speaking with you. So we became friends several years ago and worked together on a few initiatives here in the Maldives and across Europe. You were aware that in 2019, my team and I formed a creative agency with a focus on environmental impact solutions called Halevai. And when you took on this new role with The Ritz-Carlton, we were discussing ways that we could develop guest programmes and policies that were more environmentally inclusive, and that would have a long lasting impact for guests. And so it was through you that I met Evan Kwee from Pontiac land, and we started discussing and developing the ideas of creating a broader environmental policy for all of the islands here at Fari. So we formed what has become known as the Fari Islands foundation. The Fari islands foundation acts as a narrative builder for the programs and policy aimed at protecting the environment of the Fari Islands and its neighboring communities. We established this narrative through the programmes and partnerships we develop and share with our guests, our goal with the foundation and its work is to align with nature and create connections between guests in their natural environment here in North Male Atoll and with The Ritz-Carlton and its local communities. Climate change and environmental pollution are one of the greatest risks to low-lying poor communities. Our goal is to create inclusive programmes that educate and protect these communities and engage them on the islands at the resort. We're really encouraged by the willingness of the leadership to engage in these high level programmes. And we know that guests will learn and immerse themselves in the beauty of the Maldives. And they never forget a way

Mark Hehir: 2:24

That's sorry, Frank, you know, there's so much happening here in Fari Islands, and with that with Marco in Patina and Evan and all of the team giving lots of input, they're really excited to see what this collaboration can bring, talking about collaborations. There's lots of activations in your programming from solar energy, the coral propagation. Tell us more about the signature activities.

Frank Heidinger: 2:49

The first part of developing any programming or projects on a new property like Fari is understanding what the existing conditions looked like before there was a resort. We had to ask several questions. What environmental impacts have occurred as a result of the construction, and then determine what is the most important to protect in that environment. It's location geographically and visually is stunning as a shallow lagoon surrounded by four islands and wanting to develop programs that would showcase the beauty and rarity of places like this. One of the greatest threats to any marine ecosystem, no matter where you are in the world, plastic pollution, you simply cannot avoid it. It's pervasive and present no matter where you go on any day of the year on any beach on the entire planet. This was really at the top of our list. And we wanted to take a strong policy on single use plastics, thankfully with the support of The Ritz-Carlton, we now able to initiate a truly plastic free environment. Now this doesn't mean that some guests will not travel to the island with some amount of single use plastics in their luggage, but it does mean that there is a ban on all single use plastics of any kind throughout the resort. The team of is called and have gone a step further and have taken a full inventory of all the packaging coming into the resort. And over the next few months and years, we'll be working with these vendors with a long-term goal of eliminating all single use plastics. The way we see it, no single product is that important. If it has poor traceability and a negative impact on the environment, we simply won't continue to use it. We're also sensitive and understanding that some guests will require some single use items in containers, such as plates and knives and forks. We also created a programme where we will carry a full line of compostable products from lean or a unique startup company from the United States that makes a hundred percent backyard compostable products. These materials will be composted on the island or on a local Island so that they may return to nature and have zero negative impact on the marine environment. It's important to recognize the importance of this decision, because it means that the overall waste that the resort will be sending to landfill will be significantly lowered. We also see the importance to rebuild the local coral systems. We're happy to be setting up a coral propagation system on the community island that will eventually make its way back into the open water. Our estimates show us that by 2030, the coral preservation of the Fari Islands could have a larger biomass than before the development started. We're really proud of this one. Coral biomass has been on a steady decline over the past decade due to many human factors. And we are really proud to know that this program will be building back the coral in our backyard.

Mark Hehir: 5:27

Thanks, Frank. Yeah, absolutely. We're just speaking just recently with Marco and his team, how they're leading the project to really bring it together. And, uh, this is a very exciting part of what we're doing and giving back to the environment with the coral propagation there's many well-known brands, such as Parley, Swimsol, and other brand activations our listeners are looking forward to hearing more about these partnerships and collaborations. Can you tell us more

Frank Heidinger: 5:53

Question three? We're really excited to some of these unique programs with you today. First you mentioned Parley for the oceans. I've been fortunate enough to have been working with Parlay since they were founded in 2012. Their main goal is to eradicate plastic pollution globally. This may seem like an enormous task, almost impossible, but through their work, they have become the leading interceptor of plastic in the Maldives. Rich joined forces with parlay is a number of their air program developed by parlay to avoid intercept and redesign the material of plastic. They've created one of the largest networks of plastic intraception of its kind in the Maldives and ensure that these materials flow through a highly regulated supply chain and end up being upcycled into long l ife c ycle materials. How does this work for the guests at Ritz-Carlton? Each guest will have a Parlay kit i n t heir s uite. The kit consists of a tote bag made from a hundred percent recycled ocean plastic and a water bottle that they can use and refill while they are on property and donation to the Parley cleanup programmes is made on behalf of every guest to participate. Each guest kit removes 10 kilograms, 22 pounds of marine plastic from our beaches and waterways locally. Additionally Parlay we'll be creating activations, cleanups and other events throughout the year at The Ritz-Carlton and all the plastics that are collected locally through the beach cleanups on the Island will be turned over to the Parley interception programme. You really see a high level purpose in this programme and look forward to sharing it with guests.

Mark Hehir: 7:21

It's a, it's very exciting. We just finalized the details of the project and the bottles and bags that represent the programme as well. So I'm looking forward to kickstarting it with you and the team.

Frank Heidinger: 7:31

We're also working with Swimsol, a European based technology company that installs over-water solar panels. Some hotels have solar panels installed on the roofs and their guest structures are rich, has taken this a step further at the Fari Islands. There'll be a solar panels installed over the water so that we can capture more of the sun solar power and further lower carbon emissions. In addition to offsetting the carbon needs on the Island. These panels are really nice looking architecture. I'm really looking forward to watching guests look out at these beautiful structures. The foundation is working on setting goals for carbon neutrality and the solar plant itself will expand over time. We really had to crunch the numbers and maximize the profile of these properties. And on day one of operations, we will have the only resort in the Maldives and quite possibly the world that has its entire kid center and all of its recreational activity centers completely powered by solar. As we look to the future of the Maldives, Fari Islands will be a standard bearer for other resorts to look at and use as an example of what is possible in this type of resort setting.

Mark Hehir: 8:33

Yes, Frank, it's very exciting to see this, all the panels in place at the moment and, uh, and really kicking off for both resorts that, you know, this is a great start and we're looking forward to that building out. As you mentioned, you know, your work goes beyond protecting the environment. There's a strong focus on community and its people tell us how you are connecting with local communities in your efforts.

Frank Heidinger: 8:54

I would say it this way I work is all about protecting the environment and a critical part of any environment, are its people. We have developed a series of programs that bring the needs of children and local women to the top of our focus first realizing my travels to Jamaica when working with some children that many of them never went in the water. I again realized this on one of my first trips here in the Maldives, it was a fear and uncertainty of the ocean. It was for many just off limits. When I first learned this, I really struggled with the why and the how, and what I realized was that there was just no real way to approach the ocean through many of these communities. Sure, kids could go to the beach on the weekend with their grandparents or parents and possibly get their feet wet, but there was still a clear line drawn in the sand that most would never cross. And this didn't really sit well with any of us. The ocean is wondrous, plentiful, diverse, and there are many people who grow up in these islands that never get to see it. One of the programmes that we've developed at the Fari Island foundations with Dive Butler, the resort's dive center. Dive Butler is really a wonderful organization, full service, and a cut above the rest. And they're going to be offering local kids the chance to immerse in a safe and educational way with their local Marine environment. Local kids will have the opportunity to put on a mask and fins for many to the first time and look underneath the blue line and see the magnificence and biodiversity that exists here in the Maldives. We'll also be able to enroll in classes to learn about scuba, get dive certifications. Dive Butler in The Ritz-Carlton, believe that not only will those children fight to protect their environment, once they see and understand it better, they'll also be creating the next generation of dive instructors, scientists, and Marine biologists. You're also working with local communities on education around farming so that families can grow fruits and vegetables where they live and exploring some unique biotechnology innovations. There's one interesting programme locally where we can grow bio leather from coconuts. All of these programs will be featured on the Community Island and we'll create jobs at the community level. Thanks for

Mark Hehir: 11:02

Especially talking about the, the bio leather made from the coconut water of the coconuts. And this whole process will be available on, as you mentioned on our Community Island called Fari campus, which our Ladies and Gentlemen are living, but also local communities will be able to interact and sell their goods. And we're going to really focus on the upskilling, those people as well, which is very exciting. So talking and finally more about sustainability and how it's been an important topic, uh, to the traveling industry these days, especially in this climate, I guess it definitely interested being part of your efforts, please share with us the difference they can make with Fari foundations in contributing to the planet.

Frank Heidinger: 11:43

You're absolutely right. The word sustainability has become so common that it has lost some of its meaning. We've reached a point globally where there will assume be more plastic than fish in the ocean and where there could be a total collapse of global fish populations by 2040. It's really important that we build purposeful programmes that are simple and easy to understand that are measurable and repeatable. We believe that the foundation's greatest goal is to engage and educate guests while they are here at The Ritz-Carlton and on the Fari Islands most important is that we help guide and teach practices that will be applied after the guests have returned home. We want our guests to learn and immerse in a way here that allows them to never really leave. The Parley air program is the perfect example of this engage and protect our oceans while you are staying in the Maldives and stay connected. When you returned home, there's been a lot written about this topic over the last year, specifically during the pandemic about the topic of purposeful travel and luxury, the platform we are developing will allow guests to stay connected to their experience at the Fari Islands, through technology and through the various clubs we have created. For example, we have an underwater explorers club, sailing school, a young biologist club, and a Fari Islands tech hub. We want our guests of all ages to take home with them, some new knowledge and understanding that they can apply, share, and stay connected to after they've gone. So a piece of Fari Islands stays with them.

Mark Hehir: 13:06

Thanks, Frank, there's so much happening in lots for us to get to, uh, it's been great to talk to you today, and I really appreciate you detailing our plans and really, you know, these collaborations. We're not only doing together, but with Patina and Marco's team and the collaborations on our, uh, our island, uh, that the houses are ladies and Gentlemen, we call Fari Campus. So if the rest it's a whole community and then reaching out to local community as well, and in creating that emotional connection amongst us and now and our guests. So thanks for that, Frank. And we look forward to seeing you out here really soon. I know it's been a tough year for everybody, but soon we'll be able to travel. Thank you. Hope you enjoyed today's podcast. Join me next time. When we discover more about The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands