“Our Ocean, Our Health”: Creating a Sea Change in Ocean Literacy

Last year, the European Union Horizon 2020 program funded a large international program called Sea Change, with the goal of improving ocean science literacy. The project aims to empower people to take action in creating a healthy ocean and, as a result, a healthier planet.

Last week, Sea Change launched its “Our Ocean, Our Health” campaign. The effort focuses on the role that the ocean plays in making life on Earth possible. The ocean provides much of the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat. It also helps to regulate the planet’s climate. These are only some of the ways that we rely on our ocean.

Our Ocean Our Oxygen from Sea Change Project on Vimeo.

Human activity is having a profound effect on the health of our ocean. To keep from endangering ourselves and our planet, we must take good care of the ocean. Through the “Our Ocean, Our Health” campaign, Sea Change is raising awareness of these issues and creating a deeper understanding of how vital our seas and ocean are to our health.

For a decade, the Lawrence Hall of Science has been at the forefront of the Ocean Literacy Campaign here in the United States. The Hall, along with the National Marine Educators Association, NOAA, and the NSF Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence, led the effort to define what all students should understand about the ocean by the end of high school. Hall scientists and researchers joined hundreds of educators and policymakers to create Ocean Literacy: The Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts of Ocean Sciences for Grades K–12.

Craig Strang, Associate Director of the Lawrence Hall of Science, serves on the International Advisory Group for Sea Change. He expressed excitement about the new campaign.

“I’m so pleased that Lawrence Hall of Science can support and be a part of this Sea Change in Europe! It is so hopeful and inspiring to see scientists and educators in so many countries working together to promote global ocean literacy,” Strang said. “We get so much bad news about the environment. It’s great to see so many leaders in so many countries doing something positive about it!”

For more information visit Sea Change’s website. Follow and share the campaign using #OurOceanOurHealth!