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When Alisa Torgersen returned to Auckland from Australia in 2020, she knew her hometown wouldn’t look the same as the one she had left behind 15 years earlier.
What she wasn’t expecting was how much the beaches and oceans she had grown up around had changed.
Torgersen started as Yachting New Zealand’s new education lead last month, overseeing the organisation’s Clean Club programme as well as the schools engagement initiative RŪNĀ.
The experienced teacher returned to Murrays Bay shortly before Auckland’s first Covid-19 lockdown after teaching in New South Wales and Queensland since 2005.
“I was very surprised when I went back to the same beaches I used to go to before because it was nothing like how I remembered it,” Torgersen said.
“There's no longer the sea life and the rock pools and things there used to be. During the lockdowns, the kids and I were picking up rubbish, including little bits of plastic, and it was just a markable change from what I remembered.”
It would be another few years before Torgersen found what she describes as the “ideal opportunity” to become involved with Yachting New Zealand.
“It is nice to feel that I can make some kind of an impact environmentally through Yachting New Zealand’s environmental strategy, and to help yacht clubs do the same through the Clean Club programme,” she said.
Alisa Torgersen.
Clean Club is a world-first programme, launched in December 2021, provides a framework for clubs to adopt or advance their sustainability journey. It focuses on five areas – administration and leadership, waste management, resource conservation, community outreach, and education - clubs can follow to become more environmentally sustainable and these efforts are recognised in a three-tiered system.
Eleven clubs have already been certified as clean clubs, with another 30 registered. It has gained international attention with several Australian clubs adopting the programme.
Torgersen is also looking forward to applying her skills as an educator in supporting clubs on their respective RŪNĀ journeys.
In March, Yachting New Zealand launched Moanamana, a programme designed to engage schools, kura and their communities in marine ecosystem restoration projects that will build New Zealand's Blue Belt.
It is the third and final instalment in the RŪNĀ school engagement framework and follows on from the success of the first two modules – Kōkōkaha and Kōrinorino.
Each programme consists of in-classroom learning experiences delivered by teachers, and all three offer the opportunity for students to put what they have learned into practice. It is aimed at students in years 5-10 but can easily be adapted for older and younger children.
Torgersen is no stranger to sailing – she has fond memories of her dad’s Sunburst – and being near the water is a passion shared by her children - Zac, 13, and 11-year-old twins Nathan and Cecelia.
“Though my kids haven’t learned to sail yet, they grew up waterskiing and fishing - they were wearing life jackets while they were still in diapers!”
Angela Jordan.
Another relatively recent addition to the Yachting New Zealand team is Angela Jordan, who joined earlier this year as the partnership and events coordinator.
Originally from Amanzimtoti in South Africa, Jordan and her family - husband Neville and children Lucca and Isabella - have called New Zealand home for the last 25 years.
Jordan has extensive sales and marketing experience in the travel and hospitality industries and is passionate about organising and running successful events.
“I am acutely aware of the importance of having, nurturing and maintaining good partnerships for an organisation to thrive,” she said.
“I love learning new skills and making a change for the better and I am grateful for the opportunity to work for an organisation that shares that passion.”
