Our first-ever International Youth Day event was held on August 12th, a beautiful winter afternoon, at Sir Peter Blake Marine Education & Recreation Centre in Long Bay. The event offered attendees the opportunity to reconnect with the marine environment, enjoy time in and on the sea and connect with others.
Everyone in attendance had a shared passion for the ocean and an interest in learning about ways to take action and do more to look after our environment. Guest speakers from Manta Watch NZ, Project Blue, and Sustainable Coastlines shared their experiences and insight into what work they do towards protecting the ocean. You can learn more about the day and insights from the presentations in the summary below or scroll further down for links to resources!
Overview
We gathered in the hall for icebreakers and introductions before heading out on the paddleboards and around the cliffs south of Long Bay beach to explore. The visibility was incredible, so everybody eventually jumped in for a snorkel. It was magical being able to see some of the creatures hiding away in the crevasses of the seafloor. Marine enthusiast and MERC educator, Patrick, found critters to show the group, and facts to share about the Long Bay marine ecosystem. The chilly snorkel was followed by hot pizzas and drinks. As the group warmed up, we listened as three guest speakers shared some insight into their journeys. Their presentations reinforced that everyone has the ability to inspire and take action that can generate positive change.
Rika Ozaki ~ Manta Watch New Zealand
Our first guest speaker, Rika was representing the Manta Watch New Zealand team. She explained that citizen science is a huge part of what informs us about manta and devil ray distribution in NZ. In fact, 85% of all data collected this season came from citizen scientists!
Research and conservation around endangered Oceanic manta and Spinetail devil rays in Aotearoa is like trying to find a needle in a haystack - or in this case, our big blue backyard. This is why we rely on citizen scientists so much every season. Manta Watch New Zealand is and will always be a citizen science project and we wouldn't want it any other way! - Rika Ozaki
Inspired by a manta encounter at a young age, Rika pursued her passion and recently graduated from the University of Auckland with her Masters in Marine Science. Her study utilized ray sightings and data which were mostly collected by members of the public. Alongside the research they conduct, Manta Watch NZ has a short film that came out earlier this year (check out the trailer here) and will have more screenings coming up to educate more people about their manta mahi.
Nathalie Nasrallah ~ Project Blue
Our second presenter was Nathalie, an outdoor leader, sea kayak guide and talented filmmaker. She is a part of Project Blue, a group of young ocean enthusiasts who came together to make ‘For the Blue’ a film on the harm plastic pollution is doing to our environment. Project Blue’s mission is to educate, document, and drive change. Their film gives insight into the harsh reality of our reliance on plastic and how there is no ‘away’ when we throw things away. Through the course of the film, the young people behind ‘For the Blue’ share insight into their journey alongside solutions to the problem and how to initiate change - check out the trailer and find more information on their film here: projectblue.co.nz/
Teresina Robredo ~ Sustainable Coastlines
Teresina coordinates large groups of international volunteers for Sustainable Coastlines, a New Zealand charity that exists to bring people together to reduce litter and protect the moana. Teresina explained that Sustainable Coastlines is dedicated to inspiring change in mindsets, behaviour, policies and practices through community engagement and citizen science with the goal of having 60% less coastal litter by 2023.
“People protect what they love”, we resonate with this quote from Jacques Cousteau because Sustainable Coastlines was born from a love of the beach and a desire to protect it, and we want to enable New Zealanders to do just that. - Teresina Robredo
In her presentation, she highlighted the shocking fact that 39kgs of single-use plastic is used per New Zealander each year, with New Zealand ranking as the 15th worst in the world for waste generation per capita - but together, we can change this. Sustainable Coastlines is ready to take everyone they work with on the same journey... Get excited -> Get curious -> Take action -> Celebrate.
In summary, the day was full of smiles, splashes, inspiring stories and all-around positive vibes.
Check out Manta Watch NZ's Instagram reel from the day!
To find out more about the organisations featured above, check out these links:
Manta Watch New Zealand: mantawatchnz.org
Project Blue: projectblue.co.nz
Sustainable Coastlines: sustainablecoastlines.org
Many thanks to our incredible guest speakers and the NZ National Commission for UNESCO for their support of our Ngā kōrero event series.
Keen for more inspiration? Check out the Youth Ocean Action Toolkit
The Ocean Foundation worked with six young authors, a designer, and a translator - all aged 18-26 and representing various countries – to create a Youth Ocean Action Toolkit. This toolkit highlights the importance of ocean literacy and marine management. Topics in the toolkit range from Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to leveraging social media in a world where almost everything is virtual. The toolkit’s creators worked diligently to develop 70 pages of content, featuring four interviews with ocean activists and 10 MPA spotlight articles.
Amplify your voice and take action with The Ocean Foundation’s Youth Ocean Action Toolkit: https://oceanfdn.org/
