This holiday season, you may find yourself caught up in the hustle of Black Friday and Cyber Monday (there’s even a Red Thursday now!) If you think the holiday season is getting more and more commercialized, you’re not the only one.

My name is Hanna and I recently attended a Sea Smart summer camp. I first heard about Sea Smart at WE day this year when Dr. Elaine Leung spoke about global marine issues and the environment. I felt inspired because I am passionate about saving marine life and the health of our oceans. I want to learn how to educate other people so they can be more aware and hope that they take action.

When was the last time you went to the beach and looked for red seaweed? What about for sea stars? Crabs, jellyfish, animals you can’t name – they’re patterning BC’s coastline. Hiding between rocks, grappling onto algae, inside sea animals, you’ll also find plastic litter.

I’ve been working as a marine biologist for over 15 years around the world studying threatened species for various governments, universities, and NGOs. When I finished my PhD, I realized that over 30 of the species that I’ve worked or interacted with will go extinct. I felt upset, jaded, and a bit depressed (and many more sad emotions as you can imagine). Unwilling to accept defeat, I decided to tackle a new challenge: Let’s educate and inspire kids to love our oceans, and maybe they can convince their (sometimes stubborn) parents to take on actions to help our oceans!