The Problem
For many urban children, even though they might live within 25 miles of it, the ocean is an elusive and mysterious place that they will only visit 1-2 times throughout school. These children, particularly in large cities on the coasts, need opportunities to learn about the ocean in meaningful ways so that when they do visit the ocean, it is a transformative experience that has the potential to lead to increased motivation for repeated engagements.
Why is this a problem?
The more a person cares about something, the more they want to protect it. People in coastal cities can take actions that directly affect the health of the ocean. But if they do not care about the ocean, it is harder to encourage them to take stewardship actions.
Particularly over the next century, instilling in people a love of nature - especially the ocean - will become more pressing as the deteriorating condition of the planet continues. The ocean is an extremely important environment to protect due to the lack of knowledge we have about it and how it affects the climate of the planet, as well as the number of species that live there and the unforeseen consequences of what might happen if they disappear. At the same time, the ocean is a difficult area for people to understand. We can see very little of what happens there and the actions we take on land may take decades or centuries to create an impact in the ocean.
Particularly over the next century, instilling in people a love of nature - especially the ocean - will become more pressing as the deteriorating condition of the planet continues. The ocean is an extremely important environment to protect due to the lack of knowledge we have about it and how it affects the climate of the planet, as well as the number of species that live there and the unforeseen consequences of what might happen if they disappear. At the same time, the ocean is a difficult area for people to understand. We can see very little of what happens there and the actions we take on land may take decades or centuries to create an impact in the ocean.