Author Archives: oceanlifeeducation

Choose to refuse plastic in July

Choose to Refuse Plastic Free July

July is ‘Plastic Free July’

Did you know Australians use around 100 kilograms of plastic packaging per household each year? Choose to refuse single use plastic this July by signing up for the Plastic Free July challenge at www.plasticfreejuly.org. You will receive tips and support through a weekly e-newsletter during the month and you won’t be alone. You’ll be joining a million+ people world-wide in making a difference.

It is so simple to be part of Plastic Free July. Firstly, remember your reusables! Being plastic free means you always need your trusty reusable water bottles, reusable coffee cups and reusable bags handy.

Secondly, spread the word – grab your friends or co-workers and spread the plastic free love.

Go plastic free and make a differenceplastic-free-july-logo-straight-lge

The more people that choose to refuse, the greater impact we can make in reducing landfill and saving our oceans! We encourage you to help people share the challenge in your workplace, community, school and other groups.

What can you do?

From hosting a plastic free morning tea to giving your local cafe posters to encourage reusable coffee cups there are lots of materials to share and are all free to use.

Here’s some ideas we put together specifically for schools and childcare centres:

  • Plastic free morning tea: Use it as a healthy and fun way to introduce children to the problems of single-use plastic in an easy way. Plan a plastic free morning tea
  • Plastic free living workshops: give children and people skills and alternatives to plastic. This could be sewing reusable bags or making preserves. Plan a plastic free workshop
  • Bid Audit – what’s in your bin? A bin audit is a great way to see how much plastic you dispose in your school or workplace. You can opt for a comprehensive audit, weighing all the rubbish or go for a simple audit and just count the number of plastic items.
  • Have a school cleanup day: cleanup the school grounds or surrounding areas and work on ways to target plastic litter.
  • Have a ‘nude food’ day: nude food lunch days are days when students (and parents!) try their best to pack a lunch box without single-use disposable plastic.
  • Start a plastic free initiative. Get inspired by these great case studies.
  • Encourage others to refuse plastic: share these freely available posters & flyers with your local cafe, school or group to encourage people to use reusable coffee cups and bags.

All the tools and resources you need for your Plastic Free July are at www.plasticfreejuly.org.

Share with us

We’d love to see what your doing in your Plastic Free July. Post your pics on Facebook and tag @oceanlifeeducation so we can share them and inspire others to go plastic free. Let’s all do our bit to keep our waterways and oceans plastic free!

Ocean Life Education receives Engaging Science Grant

Moggill State School students touching sea urchin during ocean life education program

Students at Moggill State School during Ocean Life Education program

We are excited to be a recipient of the Advance Queensland Engaging Science Grant from the Queensland Government.

The Engaging Science Grants support science engagement and communication projects, events and activities that increase the reach and impact of science in Queensland.

At Ocean Life Education, we combine science and entertainment to deliver our interactive marine education programs using live marine animals with the aim of inspiring students to appreciate and take responsibility for the marine ecosystem.

“We are honoured to be recognised as a business that is increasing engagement and participation of the community in science-based activities.” Richard Coward.

 

We’ll be using the grant to bring our “Ocean to Outback” program to rural communities in the Western Downs region, to provide students with a greater understanding of the oceans’ marine creatures and ecosystem and the current challenges facing the marine environment.

We can’t wait to get on the road and meet you, and we look forward to bringing the sea to you!

Read the official Media Release from the Minister Leeanne Enoch MP

Read more about the Engaging Science Grants

Plan your 2017 Science Week activities with Ocean Life

National Science Week logoNational Science Week is Australia’s largest celebration of science with over a million people participating in activities across the nation.

What are you planning for Science Week?

National Science Week this year is 12-20 August and provides an opportunity to encourage an interest in science pursuits and at Ocean Life Education, we just love inspiring young Australian’s to be fascinated by the natural world we live in.

This is what Science Week is all about!

Future Earth is the 2017 theme

This year, the theme for Science Week is Future Earth with a focus on Australia’s sustainability science and the issues that are unique to us.

Turtle Lady Elliot

The focus is to raise awareness of sustainability science and encourage positive actions that make a direct impact to a more sustainable future Earth

Australian Science Teachers Association

Connecting Sustainability to Science

During Science Week, there are more than 1000 events featured across the country but we prefer to make things easy for teachers, by bringing the sea to you!

Our hands-on interactive school programs are designed with direct links to the Australian Curriculum-Science and Cross-curriculum Priority of Sustainability from years P-7.

Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you plan for Science Week!

Clayfield College students interacting with marine life

Clayfield College Students in Ocean Life Education program

Enhance your Science Week activities

Future Earth 2017 posterThe 2017 National Science Week teacher resource book is full of great activities on Australia’s sustainability science. Many of these activities align with our live marine animal incursions – no matter your year level, we have you covered!

Book in now for Science Week

Add a deeper dimension to student learning during this Science Week, 12-20 August and book a live marine animal incursion with Ocean Life Education.

Contact us to book your incursion today.

 

 

 

Monitoring marine debris

20170321 katie

Marine Debris event at Sealife Mooloolaba

By Katie-Anne

During my time as a Marine Education Officer I have been invited to many open conversations, workshops and conferences, so when I was invited to attend a night of conversation around marine debris at Sealife Mooloolaba, I thought it was a great networking and information sharing opportunity. What I wasn’t expecting, was that the night would cause a shift in my understanding of the importance of data collection and the sway that citizen science can have.

The night was organised by the Sunshine Coast Council and included guest speakers from Targaroa Blue, Sealife Mooloolaba, Coolum and North Shore Coastare, Reefcheck Australia and the SCRC Turtlecare program. These stakeholders have a volunteer or not-for-profit element to their conservation work and as such the passion exuded by each speaker was all encompassing.

One statement said it all.

Naomi Edwards from Tangaroa Blue foundation opened with a statement:

“If cleaning the beach is all we do, it is all we will ever do.”

A very bold statement which had everyone sitting up and listening with open ears. What Naomi meant was that collecting debris is an amazing opportunity to identify what is washing up, where it comes from and how it entered the marine environment.

Citizen science creating real change

Through this train of thought the Australia Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) was born. The organisation has a global database in which volunteers, community groups and organisations can input data based on the size, material and type of item collected from the beaches and river clean ups. This means me, you and the little old lady down the road can contribute to the collection of scientific data.

Tangaroa Blue then uses this data to work with Industry and government organisations to create change on a large scale. Once upon a time this type of citizen science was dismissed as ‘not scientific’, however, it appears this broad quantitative science is gaining more traction within the scientific and government communities. The exciting thing that I discovered was that local government authorities are willing to see this as a feasible data collection means for identifying possible trends within the environmental systems.

But how is the raw data used to do this? Well, I thought the same thing until I discovered that the data can be viewed by anyone and can be collated to create reports on the website and can be (including a variety of graphs…..everyone loves a good graph) tailored for specific beaches or communities. This opens the opportunity for the identification of trends and problematic pollutants within this locality and to identify where the most common types of pollutants have originated from. Once specific pollutants or trends have been identified, this data can be used as a basis for change in the form of prevention by a strategic approach within the local community.

It is this type of focused solution planning, or pollutant focused planning, that the Sunshine Coast Council is showing an interest in. An example of the positive use of this data is with the implementation of a ban on the release of balloons at council events and in council-managed reserves by the Eurobodalla Shire Council. This was the direct result of collation of data relating to balloons found on the local beaches and the education on balloon impacts on the marine environment that was given by the local environmental officers.

Community action is important for scientific data

This is the key shift in thinking from simply cleaning the beach (which I do not want to underestimate the importance!) to using this necessary and vital community action as an opportunity for data collection and potentially as a platform for societal change. Essentially this database and others like it are enabling members of the community access to relevant data to drive changes from a community based ground roots level.

More information

For more information about Tangaroa Blue, the Australian Marine Debris Initiative or upcoming clean up events, visit www.tangaroablue.org.

Other organisations mentioned:

Sunshine Coast Council TurtleCare program

Sealife Mooloolaba

Coolum and North Shore Coastare

Reefcheck Australia