Sometimes, when I think about our oceans, the forecasts feel unbearably heavy. It’s easy to slip into the feeling that we’re on a Don Quijote-like quest — charging endlessly at windmills, always falling short of the finish line. But recently, I’ve been reminded that this isn’t the whole story. There is another side. A brighter one. Hope.
Hope is the key.
It shines through the smallest cracks, the narrowest apertures, and somehow finds its way into us. It doesn’t erase the struggle, but it gives us the strength to keep walking. I’ve seen this spirit in the work of women I admire, like Cristina Mittermeier and Sylvia Earle — women who hold on to light even in the darkest waters.
And now, I see it again in the story and work of Janina Rossiter — the Artivist and the woman in ocean conservation presented in this work.
What does it mean to be an Artivist?
Janina has devoted her life to merging art with activism, using creativity as a language to inspire change. Through her children’s books — 123 Who’s Cleaning the Sea?, Diamonds, Hearts & Sea Stars!, and Green and Blue, Planet Ocean, Me and You! — she opens little hearts to the wonder of marine life and the importance of protecting it. She doesn’t lecture or frighten; she invites children into a world of beauty, helping them grow a love for the ocean that will stay with them forever.
Her approach to the issues around climate change and sea pollution is one of beauty rather than grim forecasts, and I believe this is what makes her work shine the brightest.
Her impact stretches far beyond the pages of books. She has created powerful artwork to support campaigns like Shark Guardian’s fight against shark fin imports in the UK, which led to the historic ban in 2021. She later supported the Stop Shark Finning EU initiative, which gathered over a million signatures. Her art has raised funds for organizations like The Manta Trust and Explorers Against Extinction, and her original pieces have traveled with exhibitions to inspire people to act.
Her work is showing another side of change
Janina’s contributions aren’t limited to art alone. She has also designed logos and visual identities for global marine initiatives such as the Integrated Marine Debris Observing System (IMDOS) and SECOORA, blending her background in graphic design with her passion for the ocean.
Her work has been showcased on international stages — COP26 in Glasgow, ChangeNOW in Paris, IMPAC5 in Vancouver, and more recently at UN Ocean Conference side events. On these platforms, she shows how creativity can stand beside science and policy as an equally powerful force for change.
But what moves me most about her story is her why. Janina didn’t set out to become an artivist. The turning point came in Paris, during an aquarium visit with her daughter. During a talk on plastic pollution, her little girl eagerly raised her hand to help with a cleanup activity. That small, tender moment cracked something open.
That night, Janina dove into research about ocean pollution and realized she couldn’t go back to creating art that avoided these urgent truths. From then on, she decided her work would be a tool of hope — never despair — to inspire children and adults alike to protect our blue planet.
Like many women in this field, she has faced challenges — from financial instability to under-recognition — but she never let them stop her. Instead, she leaned on the strength of community, often other women who, like her, lift one another up. She knows how vital female voices are in ocean conservation, not just because of fairness, but because women’s perspectives bring balance and depth to solutions the world desperately needs.
Her advice for young women in ocean conservation
Her advice to young women stepping into this field feels like a lifeline: follow your passion, stay curious, build a support network, and never underestimate the power of your unique perspective.
Ocean conservation isn’t just for scientists. It needs artists, communicators, storytellers, journalists — all of us. Each voice, each brushstroke, each word has the potential to ripple outward.
For me, Janina’s journey is a reminder that even in the face of overwhelming odds, hope is not naïve — it’s essential. It’s what keeps the fight alive. And through her art, she proves that beauty and activism don’t have to be separate. They can intertwine, creating a force strong enough to move hearts, shift perspectives, and maybe, just maybe, help us turn the tide.
Her story is just one among many — a shining thread in the vast tapestry of women who rise as passionate changemakers. Through obstacles, through moments of doubt, through the weight of overwhelming challenges, there remains something unshakable: hope. It flows quietly beneath the surface, steady and alive, reminding us that every voice matters.
Every woman who carries a dream in her heart can look to the Artivist’s journey and see a reflection of her own strength.
This is more than inspiration; it is a calling. A reminder that we are here to be keepers, to breathe life back into what has been wounded, to protect the beauty of this world we have been entrusted with — to be protectors, revivifiers, guardians of the wild, the fragile, the sacred.
And in that, we are never alone.
An article by Anamarija Kolimbatovic.