1. WHY IS CONSERVING AND PROTECTING THE OCEANS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Few people understand the importance of our ocean as a ‘life support system’ for all living things on our planet. We have been so busy extracting the life out of it, draining and developing critical coastal habitats, mining the ocean floor before we have even learned about the detrimental effects and of course allowing our industrial effluents, plastic waste and raw sewage to freely enter it. Yet the ocean provides more than half of the oxygen we breathe and it is busy absorbing much of the CO2 we produce. It calms our spirits, gives us a place to play and is a constant inspiration for so many of us.
It is vital that we understand our connection to the ocean and the critical importance of keeping it healthy, and that is why I work in ocean conservation. Our education system rarely mentions the ocean, we grow up learning the importance of forests, they are described as ‘the lungs of the planet’ but the ocean does far more to keep us breathing – why don’t we grow up learning that? Surely if we did we would have more respect for and determination to protect our ocean.
I use the word Ocean singular because there is only one ocean and it connects us all.
On a personal note, the ocean is important to me because it has been the backdrop for much of my life, I have lived on 6 islands (7 if you count this one!) in 5 different countries, I love the coastal habitats, clifftop walks, beach days, kayaking, sailing and simply breathing the ocean air and my passion for scuba diving and cold water swimming means I am rarely far from the coast.
2. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT IS BETTER FOR THE OCEANS?
We are working towards restoring a sustainable relationship between humanity and the ocean by using science and storytelling to create an inclusive global movement. We are determined to bring the ocean into the classroom so that ocean ‘literacy’ becomes part of essential learning and young people understand the vital importance of the ocean to sustain life on our planet. We are working with schools both in the UK and overseas to provide both teachers and their pupils with unique teaching resources including short films, worksheets, presentations and games. Our materials draw on the experience we have gained over the past 13 years, including the 8 years of filming around the world at the centres of the ocean and in the most remote parts of the planet, from the surface to the sea floor.
We are running Wavemaker Workshops to engage young people aged 18 - 24 to enable them either to pursue a career in the environmental field or to bring an environmental perspective into their existing work. We also bring their own their skills, experience and hobbies into the mix to inspire them further.
Our first documentary feature, ‘A Plastic Ocean’ created a wave of awareness around the world, of the problem of plastic waste in the marine environment. The film was described by Sir David Attenborough to be, ‘One of the most important films of our time’. It was distributed in more that 75 countries in 15 languages and was the inspiration for the Blue Planet 2 team to include a sequence about plastic in their environmental episode. The changes we have witnessed in legislation and general behaviour as well as the solutions and alternatives to single-use plastic for consumers, has demonstrated exactly how powerful a film can be to deliver an important message, even with a dry subject like plastic waste. We are now in the early stages of fundraising for our next big production, which will be an uplifting film about hope for our ocean, at a time where we are all sorely need it the most!
3. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE SURFING INDUSTRY SPECIFICALLY CAN BE DOING TO SUPPORT THE HEALTH OF THE OCEANS?
As a passionate community that understands the joy of the ocean environment, surfers can be ambassadors/advocates for ocean conservation. They can, inspire others to understand the importance of a healthy ocean and take inspiration from those who focus on conserving the ocean’s critical habitats. Talk to young people, talk to their own children and their families, bring a conservation focus into their events, mention ocean issues if being interviewed for magazines etc. Use social media to inform their followers. Of course we would love it if they direct people to our website where there is so much information, stories and downloadable resources.
4. CAN YOU RECOMMEND ANY BOOKS, BRANDS, ORGANISATIONS OR PEOPLE OUR FOLLOWERS SHOULD CHECK OUT FOR INSPIRATION?
Look no further than Ocean Generation! www.oceangeneration.org
Follow us on Instagram and for every click to follow, we will plant one mangrove tree in Madagascar. Mangroves sequester more CO2 than terrestrial trees so your follow will immediately mean you have helped to address the climate crisis.
My favourite book is ‘The Seas Around Us’ written in the early 1950’s by the brilliant Rachel Carlson. It gives a fascinating insight into how balanced and perfect our fully-functioning ocean was all those decades ago. It will inspire its readers to strive to restore our ocean back to full health.
ANY FINAL MESSAGE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?
Never underestimate the power you have as an individual to do something to help protect the ocean, one conversation can lead to incredible results. Be the person who collects plastic from the beach and disposes of it properly. Although our mission is to prevent it from every having a chance to reach the ocean, being a goal-keeper at that final stage could not only save marine life from entanglement and ingestion but it can prevent the chemicals in plastic from moving up the marine food chain. Every action we do has consequences so let’s work together and do the right thing now. Never stop telling people how important a healthy ocean is.
And finally a quote from the amazing Dr. Sylvia Earle:
“We need to protect the ocean as if our lives depend on it – because they do.”