The oceans are a mystery, as foreign to us as outer space but crucially intertwined with all life on Earth, playing a pivotal role in climate regulation and food production. Yet there has long been a divide between humans and the world beneath the sea surface — a chasm that is not merely physical, but emotional and psychological as well. This perceived distance between our existence and the oceans has made urgent policy decisions — such as the protection of ocean ecosystems and the regulation of fishing practices — less attainable, especially when the consequences are often unknown to the public.
How can members of the scientific community, along with policymakers and media professionals committed to exploring and understanding the importance of our oceans, help to bridge that gap in perception? To make the ocean deep as tangible as our gardens and forests?
Join us as we talk to scientists, policy-makers, and the media to ask why and how we can bridge the divide between our oceans and society to better care for our marine environments.
Chair:
David Marshall
Panellists:
Professor Selina Stead - UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor for the Marine Management Organisation and Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Leeds
James Honeyborne - Executive Producer for Blue Planet II and Big Blue Live; Wildlife film-maker; Founder and Creative Director of Freeborne Media.
Dr Katrina Davis - Conservation Biologist; Associate Professor in Conservation Biology, University of Oxford; Marine Conservation Ecology & Management Group PI.
Claire Moodie - Sea-E-O of Plastic Free North Devon; Regional Coordinator for Surfers Against Sewage; Community Engagement Coordinator for the Biosphere Foundation.
Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bridging-the-divide-between-our-oceans-society-why-should-we-care-tickets-631388609327?aff=erelexpmlt
