Hello wonderful community members,
We wanted to, again, thank anyone who attended our Ocean with David Attenborough film event in August. For those of you who haven’t watched the film yet, we highly suggest checking it out. The content of the documentary evokes many questions, some of which we want to address and provide resources for. The first few resources listed below were given to us directly by the David Attenborough team. We have also added some additional resources that you may find interesting, helpful and locally relevant. Have fun exploring and learning!
Follow National Geographic scientific expeditions: National Geographic Pristine Seas is studying the tropical Pacific Ocean using state-of-the-art tools, including a submersible and cameras that drop to the bottom of the ocean. Follow the team’s journey as they research the ocean wilderness and work to protect it. So far, the team has helped to create 29 marine protected areas (MPAs), which cover 6.9 million square kilometers of ocean. Engage with them on Facebook and Instagram. Read detailed stories from the ship in Pristine Seas’ Field Notes.
Use the discussion guide: The Ocean Film Discussion Guide is designed to encourage thoughtful reflection and conversation about Ocean with David Attenborough. It covers three key themes of the documentary film: the importance of the ocean for life on Earth, the impact of industrial fishing and ocean warming on marine life, and the benefits of marine protected areas (MPAs) to wildlife, people, and our climate.
Check out primers on ocean conservation: Pristine Seas has created Bringing the Ocean Back, an introduction to ocean conservation that you can use in the classroom to help students learn more about the ocean’s ability to recover through marine protected areas. Revive Our Ocean’s MPA handbook serves as a step-by-step guide for those looking to create marine protected areas in their ocean backyards.
Video library: Everyone, everywhere can tell stories that can inspire change for our planet by using the Open Planet library. Free for education and impact, the library supports a global community of teachers, students, non-profits, campaigners, and creatives to confidently communicate about our world’s greatest challenges and solutions. It features over 14,000 clips of world-class, cinematic footage and trusted data on climate, nature and humanity, including the world’s ocean and coastal seas. Coming soon, new footage captured during the filming of Ocean with David Attenborough will help drive storytelling for the ocean on a scale never seen before. Find out more and start your story at OpenPlanet.org.
Organizations with Great Resources and Taking Action Opportunities:
- Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
- National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
- Coast Savers
- Surf Rider
- NOAA West Coast Groundfish: Management
- Oceana
High Seas Treaty: The 60th Nation has ratified the High Seas Treaty which will now turn into international law in January. It’s taken twenty years to get to an agreement to have some international laws regarding the open ocean. “Once the treaty comes into force, countries will propose areas to be protected and these will then be voted on by the countries that sign up to the treaty.” This Treaty will help the world achieve the 30 x 30 target of protecting 30 percent of the planet by 2030. It will hopefully foster new marine protected areas and actions to safeguard our ocean health.
Check out these articles to learn more about the High Seas Treaty:
- What is the treaty?
- Key oceans treaty crosses threshold to come into force
- Global agreement to protect the oceans set to take effect after 60th ratification
- Treaty language and list of members/dates
- The United States and the Treaty
I hope you find these resources helpful and we hope to see you at our next events or out there by the Sea!
