I’ve spent my life helping the ocean, little did I know how much it was helping me.
Tim Silverwood is an award-winning environmentalist and ocean leader. As CEO and Co-founder of Take 3 for the Sea, Tim leads one of Australia's most recognised environmental movements, inspiring millions of people to “take three pieces of rubbish when you leave the beach, river, park or… anywhere”.
A passionate surfer, Tim's journey began after witnessing the growing impact of plastic pollution on the places he loved most. In 2009, he co-founded Take 3 for the Sea, encouraging people to adopt simple, practical actions to reduce plastic pollution whilst supporting the systemic changes needed to turn off the plastic tap.
That simple message has grown into a global movement reaching millions of people through education, community engagement, schools, businesses and government partnerships.
After a decade leading Take 3 as CEO, Tim co-founded Ocean Impact Organisation (OIO) in 2020 to help accelerate the next generation of innovative businesses and founders working to improve ocean health. Through Australia's first ocean-focused startup accelerator and impact investment fund, OIO supports entrepreneurs and innovations that strengthen the sustainable blue economy and demonstrate the ocean’s potential in shaping a better future. Over 125 startups and entrepreneurs have been supported through OIO’s programs to date.
In October 2025, Tim returned to Take 3 as CEO to lead the organisation into its next chapter. His renewed vision for Take 3 leverages his experience in education, technology, innovation, policy reform, impact tracking and large-scale participation to create lasting change. Central to this work is a focus on how human-sized actions, when multiplied across communities, businesses and governments, can deliver planet-scale impact.
Tim’s presentations combine compelling storytelling with practical insights into plastic pollution, the Blue Mind effect, ocean innovation, the circular economy and how authentic leadership can drive bold change. Whether speaking on stage, appearing in the media or collaborating with purpose-driven brands, Tim helps audiences understand why the ocean matters and how each of us have a role to play in shaping a better future.
Talking Points
The Accidental Changemaker
Tim Silverwood didn't set out to lead a global movement. He was just a surfer who saw a problem emerging on the beaches that he loved and couldn't look away. What followed was fifteen years of grassroots activism, unlikely wins, policy battles and the accidental building of one of the world's most recognised ocean charities - Take 3 for the Sea, now a movement spanning millions of people across the globe.The Accidental Changemaker
This is a talk about what happens when ordinary people decide to act. Tim shares his personal journey from concerned surfer to co-founder and CEO. Tim shares the moments of doubt, the hard-fought policy changes, and the rocky road that saw the salty boy from the Central Coast take to the world stage in Washington D.C. (in front of President Obama) to call “times up on plastic”.
Raw, honest and genuinely inspiring, this keynote challenges audiences to reconsider what they think is possible. Tim's story is proof that you don't need a title, a budget or a roadmap to create lasting change. The most powerful movements in history didn't start with a strategy - they started with someone who refused to look away.
For audiences ready to reconnect with their own sense of purpose and possibility, this is that talk.
Best for: leadership conferences, purpose and culture events, sustainability summits, all-staff keynotes.
Key Takeaways:
- Discover how small actions can spark movements with global impact.
- Build confidence to lead change without waiting for permission, perfect timing or the perfect plan.
- Learn practical leadership lessons from scaling an idea into an internationally recognised organisation.
- Reframe setbacks, uncertainty and failure as essential ingredients of meaningful progress.
- Leave inspired to identify and act on opportunities to create positive change within your own organisation and community.
Step Into Blue: The Science of Water, Wellbeing & High Performance
There is something that happens to us near water. We breathe differently. We think more clearly. We feel more alive. Science is now catching up to what surfers, swimmers and sailors have always known - and what visionary researcher Dr Wallace J. Nichols spent a lifetime documenting in his landmark work, Blue Mind.Step Into Blue: The Science of Water, Wellbeing & High Performance
In this keynote, Tim Silverwood takes audiences on a journey into the science and soul of our relationship with water. Drawing on Nichols' groundbreaking research - which reveals how proximity to water reduces stress, unlocks creativity and restores our capacity for genuine human connection - Tim brings the theory to life through his own extraordinary experiences on and in the ocean. From surfing remote breaks and diving deep beneath the waves to sailing through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Tim has lived the blue mind thesis in ways few people have.
This is not a neuroscience lecture. It is an invitation to remember something most of us have quietly forgotten - that we are water, we come from water, and returning to it changes us in ways that matter deeply, both personally and professionally. Audiences leave this talk seeing their relationship with the natural world in an entirely new light.
Best for: wellbeing and mental health events, HR and people and culture conferences, leadership retreats, high-stress industry audiences
Key Takeaways:
- Understand the science behind why water improves wellbeing, creativity and cognitive performance.
- Learn practical ways to use nature and "blue spaces" to manage stress and improve resilience.
- Gain fresh insights into the connection between environmental health and human health.
- Explore how reconnecting with nature can strengthen leadership, innovation and workplace culture.
- Leave with simple, evidence-based practices that can be applied immediately in everyday life.
Riding The Next Wave: Innovation, Regeneration & the Blue Economy
Just as renewable energy went from fringe idea to global industry, the ocean economy is having its moment. And like the early days of climate tech, the leaders, businesses and investors who lean in now will be the ones who will truly shape what comes next.Riding The Next Wave: Innovation, Regeneration & the Blue Economy
Tim Silverwood has spent fifteen years at the frontier of this shift. As co-founder of Ocean Impact Organisation - Australia's first ocean startup accelerator - he has worked alongside the entrepreneurs, scientists and innovators quietly building the industries of the future. From regenerative aquaculture and marine-derived materials to coastal carbon and ocean-based innovation, the momentum is real, and the window is open.
The ocean has sustained life on this planet for billions of years. It turns out the principles behind that - regeneration, interdependence, long-term thinking - are exactly what the most resilient businesses are now being built on. Investing in the health of our ocean and investing in a prosperous future are not competing ideas.
They never were.
This is a keynote for organisations ready to think boldly about what's next - and to understand why the most exciting and durable opportunities of the coming decade may well be coming from the sea.
Best for: innovation and strategy conferences, impact investment audiences, ESG leadership events, FMCG and consumer goods industries
Key Takeaways:
- Understand the scale and potential of the emerging blue economy.
- Discover how ocean-inspired innovation is creating new markets, products and business models.
- Learn why regenerative thinking is becoming a competitive advantage across industries.
- Identify opportunities for organisations to innovate, invest and create value while delivering positive environmental outcomes.
- Leave with practical ideas to future-proof strategy by aligning commercial success with the health of people and the planet.
Video
Tim Silverwood | Showreel | Saxton Speakers
Tim Silverwood has helped remove more than 50 million pieces of plastic from oceans and waterways worldwide through Take 3 for the Sea, the movement he founded in 2009 that now runs education programmes in 129 countries and has reached over a million students. In this showreel, the environmentalist and Ocean Impact Organisation co-founder explains why he calls himself an accidental Speaker: a surfer who saw a problem overseas and decided to act rather than wait for someone else to. He talks through what drives his corporate and event presentations, from the economics of ocean innovation to what he calls the blue mind effect, the documented shift from anxious to calm and productive that happens simply by being near, on, or under water. For event organisers, Tim offers something rare in the sustainability space: a case for environmental action grounded in human health and performance, not guilt. His sessions leave audiences with a clear, practical link between planet and people.
