The problem and our solution
We believe that our oceans do not have the respect they deserve: we pollute, over use, and carelessly destroy 70% of our blue planet. Yet our lives, marine creature’s lives, the next generation’s lives, all depend on them. Without them there wouldn’t be enough oxygen to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, or a climate to live in. Whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles, rays … these charismatic creatures can inspire a child’s passion and respect for marine life. Our vision is to inspire the next generations to care about our oceans and to bring ocean studies into the National Curriculum.
Incredible Oceans is an education outreach programme from the World Cetacean Alliance – the world’s largest Partnership working to protect whales, dolphins and porpoises – delivered by WhaleFest, an organisation delivering the world’s largest children’s outreach events about cetacea. The purpose of the project is to inspire a generation of children from an early age to respect, care about and protect cetaceans and their habitats. It has a two year time frame to raise funds, create the pack and deliver the programme to 300 schools across the country. At the end of the delivery period the pilot will end with a live schools event with the intention of bringing together the four modules in a whale festival type experience for the participating schools.
With our entertaining and expert presenter Russell Arnott (MSc Oceanography) we will film four popular, accessible science, ocean lectures, based on the successful format of the Royal Institution children’s lectures. We then send free DVDs with full multi-ability lesson plans to 300+ primary schools using the wow factor of charismatic species in each lesson, with every school receiving a life-sized inflatable bottlenose dolphin. This cross-curricular, guided learning programme could spark a life-long appreciation for marine life….http://www.incredibleoceans.org/