Two initiatives to help promote educational measures in ocean literacy
Accelerating Ocean Literacy in UK Culture
Both the Marine Conservation Society and the Thames Estuary Partnership (TEP) have had long involvement in the education process. Through discussions as members of the Marine CoLABoration (funded by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation), we recognised the opportunity for more focus in the curriculum for UK schools on ocean literacy – understanding our influence on the ocean and the ocean’s influence on us. One of the first initiatives from this project was the recent World Ocean Day for Schools.
In 2016, teachers were invited to take part in national research to find out more about their knowledge of blue spaces (lakes, rivers, but especially seas and estuaries), their feelings about these spaces and how they do or don’t feature in their teaching. This helped to clarify the current state of ocean literacy and how it might be improved.
This collaboration led to the formation of a network of organisations interested and/or involved in marine education – including the National Marine Aquarium, Marine Biological Association and The Wild Network and their founders Wild Labs – and discussion about what we could do to boost ocean literacy in the UK. Many lessons can be learned from successful approaches in Europe where there is already a marine educators network established sharing best practice (European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA)) and the USA where the concept of ocean literacy began.
With funding from Gulbenkian and a small contributions from each founding partner including TEP, Wild Labs brought together a group of marine conservationists and scientists, together with professionals from communication, education and creative sectors to collaborate through ‘design sprints’ to come up with ideas that might engage people on ocean literacy. Click here to see the report – Accelerating Ocean Literacy in UK Culture – that summarises the research and outlines how we could evolve into an ocean literate culture.
Click here to read more
Go on a coastal adventure with The Snail and the Whale – Explore England’s coastline
This summer sees the launch of a unique partnership between the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), Natural England and Macmillan Children’s Books, celebrating 15 years of The Snail and the Whale, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s classic tale of adventure and friendship.
First published in 2003, The Snail and the Whale tells the story of a tiny snail who hitches a lift around the world on the tail of “a great big, grey-blue humpback whale”. Together they go on an amazing journey, past icebergs and volcanoes, sharks and penguins. The little snail feels so small in the vastness of the world but when disaster strikes and the whale is beached in a bay, it’s the tiny snail’s big plan that saves the day.
Macmillan Children’s Books, MMO and Natural England want to encourage families to go on their own big adventures this summer, exploring The England Coast Path. While visitors might not see icebergs, sharks and penguins, with the help of their ‘The Snail and the Whale Coastal Adventure’ booklet they will have all the tools and information they need to explore their coast – from matching animals to their coastal homes and learning fun marine animal facts to advice about keeping our coasts free from marine litter. The booklet is available to download now from the MMO website and also at special events celebrating The Snail and the Whale and this fantastic partnership throughout 2018. Click here to read more
No Comment