Ocean Lovers Festival

​I recently attended the Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival at the Australian National Maritime Museum and at Bondi. I paid to attend on a couple of the days and attended a couple of the days as a volunteer.

Day 1 of the Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival was the Blue Solutions Summit at the Australian National Maritime Museum. Keynote speakers were: Dr. Lucy Buxton from Ocean Decade Australia, Julie Hutchinson from Volvo Car Australia, and James Valentine from Australian Broadcasting Company. There were three discussion panels: Ocean Innovation, Ocean Plastic and Pollution, and Fishing and the Future of Food. There were lots of discussions about research and programs to protect our marine environment, and innovations in a range of industries. There were productive discussions about issues of ocean pollution and plastic, and sustainability of the fishing industry. The Youth Advisory panel was a great example of student engagement and leadership with their discussion - Have we left it too late? 

The Blue Solutions Summit was a great opportunity to learn new things, engage with a wide range of experts in a range of fields, and do something genuinely enjoyable.

​​A few questions raised and comments that I thought were worth more thought…
- Where can you have the most impact? Get involved...
- What do you do better than anyone else? Do that….
- You can’t easily change the world, but you can change your world. Be passionate...

​I volunteered during the Ocean Lovers Festival School Days and assisted with the school excursions at Bondi. Some excellent student artworks were on display at Litterati. These were artworks created from common items of marine pollution. There were displays and hands on activities from a range of organisations including Sydney Institute of Marine Science, SeaLife, the Australian National Maritime Museum, Underwater Earth, University of Sydney and Ocean Sentinels. There were a series of talks including from Emily Rowland, Ocean Youth Ambassador; Cay-Leigh Bartnicke, Science Curator, Australian National Maritime Museum; Associate Professor Rachael Gray, The University of Sydney; Megan Trethewy – Research Assistant: Project Restore, Sydney Institute of Marine Science. 

My favourite activity was run by the Australian National Maritime Museum for primary students using an underwater drone to explore the ocean pool at North Bondi. 

Further talks, displays and markets took place over the weekend. 
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This event was informative and engaging and reinforced my belief in the importance of environmental education, particularly in schools, to bring about wider change. In the future this would be useful for a half day excursion for :
- students in Year 10 Geography studying Environmental Change and Management using a coastal, catchment or harbour case study
- students in Year 12 Geography studying the Great Southern Reef or Great Barrier Reef as a case study for Ecosystems At Risk/ Ecosystems and Global Biodiversity
- students in Elective Geography studying the Oceanography topic
- students in Marine Studies or Marine and Aquaculture Technology