Ocean Academy
Social change through education
MotherOceanBlue will elicit social change through education via the Ocean Academy. By engaging and empowering students at a transformative age, we will enable our future citizens to seek and drive change with confidence; to ask questions of the world around them and work together to find answers. Why?
Because we simply cannot allow the next generation to flounder their way into an uncertain future. Ten sessions at the Ocean Academy will give them the head start they need no matter where in the world they might live.
How can you fix a world if you don’t know how it works?
Research revealed a famine of climate information for older students. Currently only primary and infant level children are given a basic level of climate education.
Why are students between the ages of 10 and 15 years old starved of this information at the very age they need it most? These students are the voters and decision makers of the future and yet they move on to further education or employment to join an inherently harmful global economic system.
The education plan conceived by the MotherOceanBlue team is designed to inform and support the voices of our youth and invite them to be what they should be – a valuable inclusion to a global problem. It will integrate with changes to the education curriculum as Edu-technology is employed worldwide.
The MotherOceanBlue Ocean Academy gives students key information on the Earth as a global mechanism, how it functions, how it is being damaged by human activity, and vitally – how it should work.
The education plan is currently presented as 10 sessions designed and built with activities, practical take-home tasks and discussion elements.
Each session is linked to daily/family life making the topics relatable for each student. Sessions end with a brainstorming session to “invent” a solution or success story – the only rules for brainstorming are: no time travel, and no magic! Students are challenged to carry out their own research and share findings – positive or negative – with the group along with their own experiences and ideas.
At the end of the 10 session course, students will have the option to take part in an assessment period with written and practical tests to qualify as an Ocean Guardian.
Ocean Guardians will show a thorough knowledge of all subjects covered during the 10 week course as well as providing their own research and proven communications challenges in awareness and campaign creation/support.
Qualifiers will receive a conservation pack including a badge, certificate and other branded items. Ongoing support will be given to Ocean Guardians via a secure area on the website to build a thriving conscientious student community.
Because we simply cannot allow the next generation to flounder their way into an uncertain future. Ten sessions at the Ocean Academy will give them the head start they need no matter where in the world they might live.
Ocean Academy Content Overview
Introduction
Overview of topics, consumerism, how to research and share, filtering fake news.
Ocean awareness
Zones, coral, reef systems, global currents and flows, interconnectedness – one ocean.
Coral
Biology, genera, as a habitat, healthy coral versus damaged or dying, bleaching, pollutants and other issues.
Global warming
Effects, gulf streams, ocean salinity, migration, is climate change real? Sea level rise and ocean salinity.
Ocean plastics and pollution
The greater problem of plastics with example solutions.
Fishing
Types and impacts of fishing and fisheries, farmed fish, big game fishing. Ghost nets and plastic pollution. Can fishing be sustainable?
Endangered animals
ICUN red list, effects of species loss, speciation, mass extinctions through the Earths history, the Anthropocene.
Sharks
Keystone species, as food, bioaccumulation, apex predators. Basic anatomy, body language and misconceptions. Sharks in the media.
Ocean positive
Citizen science, marine biology, tech for good, eco-tourism, your place in the marine system.
Organisations
Global ocean positive and environmental organisations.
Research tools
How to grow your own knowledge base and keep up with developments. How to best use your voice. Getting involved.
Please note, the pilot programme is available for English speaking schools only at this time.
Apply for the Academy Pilot Programme
When I discovered my two teenage boys working on national curriculum GCSE coursework
Zakia Rashid
with no guidance on earth sciences, I had my lightbulb moment.