Ocean Wise makes a splash at the North Vancouver Sustainability Week

In April, Ocean Wise joined the North Vancouver School District as partners for the district’s first annual Sustainability and Climate Action Week.  

The action-packed week saw Ocean Wise partner with the district to provide direct climate action and education opportunities for youth K-12. Highlights included an address by Ocean Wise CEO Lasse Gustavsson and the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, the Member of Parliament for North Vancouver, a BeAware Climate Fair, the debut of the Ocean Wise Sea Dome, the launch of education initiative Waves of Change, and a district-wide litter cleanup! Read about the highlights of the week below:

Virtual kick-off 

The week kicked off with Ocean Wise CEO Lasse Gustavsson addressing the district’s staff and students, alongside the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, the Member of Parliament for North Vancouver, City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan, Kulvir Mann, Chair of the North Vancouver Board of Education! You can hear what they had to say here.

The Ocean Wise Sea Dome at the BeAware Fair

Ocean Wise Education launched the brand-new Ocean Wise Sea Dome at the “BeAware Fair” at Carson Graham Secondary. The Ocean Wise Sea Dome is a brand new immersive ocean adventure that brings marine magic to communities everywhere. The portable, inflatable six-metre dome projects 360-degree 4K cinematic footage showing connections between ocean health, climate change, and daily life. Youth will see the Arctic to view changes in sea ice, to tropical reefs to assess impacts of ocean acidification, and to BC’s rivers to learn how salmon habitats can be preserved. 

During the day, Ocean Wise’s education team led about 538 students and teachers through the dome experience, as well as North Vancouver School Board Trustee Kulvir Mann, Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma, and Seymour MLA Susie Chant! In tandem, students took part in an interactive educational session on climate change in the Arctic.

Waves of Change

The launch of the Ocean Wise Sea Dome also marked the launch of Waves of Change, a climate change education initiative between Ocean Wise with partners GreenLearning, TakingITGlobal, and the Centre for Global Education. Waves of Change includes a range of educational activities and initiatives for youth K-12. You can read more about the Waves of Change launch here! 

District Wide Litter Cleanup 

The Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup supported the school district to host litter cleanups at schools across North Vancouver, including training student leaders and providing supplies. The district-wide cleanup saw nearly 4,000 students of all ages picking up litter in their communities. Students sorted the litter for recyclable items and recorded their findings on data cards as citizen scientists. Litter removed from the school communities included single-use food and beverage items, paper, discarded textiles, and some random items including a tea kettle and a tire! 

To learn more about the week, search for the hashtag #NVSDStewardship on social media and check out more photos from the week below!