Bamboo Sushi's marine reserve crusade paints a picture

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The mural at Bamboo Sushi has a story to tell about marine reserves and some rowdy entrepreneurs who wanted to make a difference. Click through for a close-up image. 

What happens when more than 1,000 eco-minded entrepreneurs set sail for three days in the Bahamas, bent on boosting the positive impacts of their businesses? A rallying cry for roughly $1 million, the protection of a marine area, and a commemorative mural in an unlikely place: tableside at Bamboo Sushi’s new restaurant location at 836 N.W. 23rd Ave. in Portland.

There's a story behind the mural and it has something to do with the fact that Bamboo Sushi CEO and founder Kristofor Lofgren was instrumental in creating the Marine Protected Area in the same Bahamian island chain that hosted the three-day cruise, called Summit at Sea.

As one of the 1,000 entrepreneurs at the event, he forged a partnership with the Nature Conservancy and offered $250,000 to seed a fundraising campaign that led to The South Berry Island Marine Protected Area, the country’s first marine protected area to ban commercial fishing. Follow-up campaigns have since funded a long-term management plan, park infrastructure and enforcement at South Berry Island.

It’s the kind of thing that the cruise was intended to spur in the first place. Summit at Sea is part of Summit Series — a wacky gathering of high-achieving and mostly young people that’s one part spiritual revolution, one part conference.

Summit at Sea set sail in April 2011 loaded with big thinkers on a mission to improve their global impact. From shark tagging to sunrise yoga, survival courses and talks, the cruise was designed, not just for learning, but to shift the way business leaders define success and to foster friendship and world-changing partnerships.