A New Wave of Ocean Education
the oceans
are important really really important
few of us fully understand just how
important the oceans are but it’s
important that we do
because our actions even small choices
are impacting them
a lot and without healthy oceans well
things would look vastly different
around here so
let’s start by discussing this
importance and
forgive me for saying the word important
what felt like
10 times just trying to get a point
across the oceans
are important having grown up on the
rocky coast of maine
the ocean’s influence was inescapable
you needn’t look further than
our school’s mascots to get the idea
anyone outside of maine
always gets a laugh when i explain that
not one but both my
middle and high school mascots were old
wooden ships
from family members and friends to
classmates and peers
our community relied on the ocean
not only for livelihoods but something
deeper and less definable
the ocean served as a source of
inspiration for
authors artists and poets and as a young
kid
it was our biggest playground for
mainers the ocean is
inseparable from our heritage identity
and culture as the founder of saltwater
classroom
a non-profit focused on ocean education
i’ve come to realize that the ability of
the ocean to
shape lives and communities in this way
is
by no means unique to maine in fact
it’s kind of the norm in coastal
communities
all around the world the ocean defines
us
to begin with more than 40 percent of
the world’s population
lives less than 100 kilometers roughly
60 miles
from the coast many in fast-growing
coastal cities
the livelihoods or the basic needs of
more than 3 billion people
are directly tied to marine and coastal
biodiversity just like they are in my
hometown
almost half of the world’s population
relies on the ocean as their main source
of protein
the ocean is estimated to generate
between three and
six trillion dollars annually for our
global economy
over 80 percent of world trade is moved
by the ocean and
that number will inevitably continue to
grow as
arctic ice melts and previously
unexplored roots
are made accessible and well it’s easy
for
those of us in coastal communities to
grasp the importance of the ocean
it’s understandably harder for people
removed from it by hundreds or
thousands of miles to fully comprehend
just how important our oceans are
if you’re not directly witnessing the
food harvesting the coastal tourism
the maritime trade it’s with these it’s
within reason to think that
maybe the ocean doesn’t impact you if
you find yourself thinking
yeah i can see the ocean being important
for mainers or people who live on
islands or fishermen but i live in
nashville or ciudad de mexico and
i don’t even like seafood so
i’d encourage you to think again let’s
go deeper
the ocean is the defining feature
of our planet it covers almost
three-quarters
of the surface of the globe and
represents the world’s single largest
ecosystem
the ocean and the life it supports is
responsible for generating
over half of the world’s oxygen supply
every other breath we take we ought to
be thanking
phytoplankton kelp sea grass
seaweed on top of the air we breathe
the oceans drive our climate and shape
our weather patterns yes
even in nashville or mexico city the
ocean is the source of
several innovative discoveries in
sectors such as pharmaceuticals and
agriculture
and with more than 80 percent of the
oceans still unexplored
it inevitably holds the key to solving
many future challenges
in food production health and more
life itself began in the ocean
and has relied on its resilient and
diverse systems
every day since
whereas most people may not fully
understand just how critical the oceans
are
i believe the majority would acknowledge
that they are in a
bit of a tricky place i’d wager that
most of you have
heard of overfishing maybe even bycatch
you’ve likely seen news stories about
coral reefs declining
maybe you’ve seen an example of coral
bleaching
stronger storms and tidal surges and sea
level rise are
topics you probably have some level of
familiarity with
and if you’ve been to the coast in the
past
five years chances are you’ve seen
firsthand
the issue of plastic pollution there’s
really
no denying it around the world the ocean
is suffering our human activity largely
in the last
70 years or so has placed an enormous
amount of stress on the ocean
environment
through coastal development extractive
industries
pollution and the combustion of fossil
fuels
ocean habitats have been destroyed
species threatened
and the delicate balance of the ocean
reached over millennia altered
excessive harvesting has depleted fish
stocks with over 30 percent of fisheries
classified
as over exploited increased atmospheric
carbon dioxide has disrupted the very
chemistry
of seawater and led to the devastating
phenomenon
of ocean acidification marine pollution
has reached
unprecedented levels with a staggering
average of 13
000 pieces of plastic present on every
square kilometer
of ocean this ocean plastic degrades
into microplastics which have now been
detected in marine organisms from
plankton
to whales in commercial in commercial
seafood and
even in our drinking water these
problems and more
pose serious threats not only for the
health
of the ocean but the health of humankind
as well
additionally around the world these
burdens
are unequally shared
with our growing dependence on the
services provided
by the ocean and its greater
vulnerability the way
in which we respond to these challenges
will ultimately dictate the future
sustainability of our species
if we hope to protect our economies our
homes
our food sources the respiratory system
of our planet and the world’s
single largest ecosystem we have to
start treating
our oceans differently what do we do
what can you do what is this all about
education is the answer to understanding
and one day
reversing the undue stress humans have
placed on the ocean
we have reached this point of severe
degradation because
as a species we did not know how our
actions were
impacting the environment but we can use
that excuse
no more and now it is our responsibility
to
ensure that everyone knows
i was first introduced to the immense
potential
of environmental education during my
undergraduate years
at northeastern university at the time
my
educational focus centered on urban
coastal sustainability and
i had the opportunity to live and study
in vina del mar
a seaside city in chile while
researching the
environmental and social scenarios
impacting sustainable development
in latin america it became clear to me
that environmental education was
not only necessary but a fairly simple
solution to
pressing ocean issues new technologies
and
innovations and management strategies
are undoubtedly
part of the picture but for that picture
to be
the reality for those strategies to
really take hold
the base level how we think about the
oceans
must change and this is where education
comes in
there is a unique power vested in
education
to change the way in which society views
and
consequently treats the environment
when you learn about something whether
it’s sea turtles
or salt marshes you gain an appreciation
for that something
in turn this appreciation leads you to
assign value to it in your mind
and when something is of value to
someone it leads that individual to
feel concerned for it and possess a
desire to protect it
an urge to see that no harm comes to it
environmental education inspires people
to make changes towards a
sustainable future by equipping them
with the necessary tools to make
informed decisions about their
environment actions
and impact it’s an amazing thing
really the power that learning has
and it doesn’t take much a thoughtfully
crafted curriculum
implemented widely across a city or
community can
significantly change the attitudes of an
entire generation
this shift in thinking spurred by
education is what is needed on a large
scale
for our oceans because of their
undeniable
planetary importance because of their
integral role in our human lives because
of the
severity and immediacy of the issues
facing them
because of the very nature of the ocean
its inherent
obscurity we are land mammals
after all and despite this
education focused on the ocean marine
science or
conservation broadly referred to as
ocean literacy
is largely absent from curricula around
the world
this absence reflects the decades-long
mindset
of the ocean and ocean issues being cast
aside
relegated to the back burner that old
out of sight
out of mind trope unfortunately this has
led
to the state of our oceans today
exploited
depleted and polluted
education has the power to change this
the power to
eliminate the apparent underlying apathy
towards the ocean education gives people
a reason to care
yes it’s certainly worth noting that
there
is a great deal of laudable action being
taken to address
ocean issues there’s progress in the
form of marine protections and
industry changes and responsible tourism
and a wide swath
of people making everyday choices to be
better stewards
of our environment but in order to
ensure
lasting significant sustainable change
environmental stewardship ocean
stewardship
must be the charge of everyone not just
the conscientious few to achieve this
societal
systematic shift we must start at the
beginning
and that is education
while in chile between time exploring
the small fishing villages the desert
and salt flats in the north the
mountains in the south
i volunteered each week in a fifth grade
classroom
it was here in this classroom an
impoverished neighborhood
in the saros or hills above the city
that
everything i had learned up to that
point
my background my childhood my
experiences and education
coalesced and i saw an opportunity
an opportunity for students around the
world
to learn about our oceans connect with
one another
and share in this education and together
grow
a network of young people committed to
our oceans
this is how saltwater classroom was born
saltwater classroom is committed to the
vision
of a sustainable future for our blue
planet
forged through education what does this
education look like
it’s hands-on experience based immersive
learning
designed to connect students regardless
of where they may live
to the ocean in new and meaningful ways
ways that will last and grow and
naturally progress
into a lifelong ethic of ocean
stewardship
whether through in-person workshops or
virtual education
our program is driven by this proven
impactful
approach it’s interdisciplinary
yes rooted in science and conservation
but
incorporating art and music and language
because
as humans we connect to the ocean in all
number of ways
and our education should reflect this
through this approach we seek to inspire
all students because we all must be
better stewards
of the ocean not just those with an
inclination to science
and lastly ocean education with
saltwater classroom
is global covering over 70 percent
of the planet our oceans and the many
issues confronting them
are about as global as it gets within
this
is an amazing opportunity to bridge
geographic distances and cultural
divides
and unite students through a passion for
the ocean
we achieve this by facilitating global
connections through
technology integrated education linking
students in maine
and mexico for example over a common
interest or
favorite species or local issue
i am often asked what an individual can
do
to help the ocean and my answer is
always
keep learning learn about an issue that
speaks to you
whether it be microplastics or ocean
acidification or a certain
endangered species learn one thing that
you can change
in your home your daily routine your
closet
your diet learn how you can make a
difference in your community
do a beach cleanup sign and share a
petition
champion legislation that drives
progress
be open to ways that you can broaden
your understanding of the ocean and
its role in our lives in your life
and if you’re able support
ocean education share it with your
friends and encourage it
in your community because there is a new
wave
of ocean education on the horizon it’s
coming
and it’s growing and i would like
nothing more than for you
to be a part of it thank you