Author Archives: oceanlifeeducation

Celebrate World Ocean Day 2023 at School

What is World Ocean Day?

World Ocean Day is an annual event to highlight issues affecting our oceans. It is on a mission to deepen understanding of our relationship with the ocean and inspire action to protect it. Why not celebrate World Ocean Day at school by organising an event or activity. See below for some great ideas to get your centre or school involved at celebrate World Ocean Day with us.

What is the Theme of World Ocean Day 2023?

The World Ocean Day 2023 Conservation Action Focus is Protect at least 30% of our blue planet by 2030

When is World Ocean Day 2023?

World Ocean Day 2023 will be held worldwide on 8 June 2023. World Ocean Day is celebrated annually on 8 June.

Why Celebrate World Ocean Day at School?

Our ocean connects us all and we are all responsible for them, so it makes sense for us all to unite our efforts and join together with friends, community and family to celebrate the world’s oceans and help highlight issues affecting them, so that we can protect them for the future. Celebrate World Ocean Day at school by planning inspirational ocean themed activities.

How Can Schools Celebrate World Ocean Day Australia 2023?

As World Ocean Day Australia is powered by The Youth Advisory Council, it is the perfect opportunity for schools to focus student’s attention on the ocean while being led by inspirational youth role models.

There are many ways that schools can celebrate World Ocean Day Australia 2023. Here are some great activities and ideas to get you started.

**Keep a plastic diaryfor a day – pledge to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle.

**Plastic Ocean Life Cycle Activity

**Teach curriculum themes through ocean activities: habitats, life cycles, adaptation, classification, human impact using our Free Primary Resources:

**Students do an online shark’s courseand receive a personalised certificate ($20 per student – free trial and group discounts available)

**Organize a beach clean or a visit to a local beach – and maybe pick up some litter.

**Fundraise to support a local coast care charity e.g., Coolum Coast Care, Ocean Crusaders, Sea Shepherd

Blog: 20 Ideas for Celebrating the Ocean in 2023

How Early Learning Centres Can Celebrate World Ocean Day Australia 2023

There are heaps of creative ways that early learning centres can celebrate World Ocean’s Day Australia. Here are our top picks:

Decorate your classroom or childcare setting – Check out our FREE early learning resources
Book an ocean-focused incursion or excursion
Host an ocean themed colouring or drawing competition

Involve your centre or school by checking out the World Ocean Day Website

Check out our Blogs for further information on how you can celebrate World Oceans Day…

Guide to Teaching Ocean Literacy

How Can I Protect the Ocean

10 Reasons Why We Depend on Our Oceans

World Oceans Day Website

Engage Kids with Sharks

Most children (and adults!) are naturally fascinated by sharks, either through sheer awe and wonder or by misguided fear. So, it’s no surprise that we can engage kids with sharks to learn a whole range of curriculum topics, without them even realising!

Ocean Life Education has developed a range of FREE online shark teaching resources and an online shark course to provide kids, schools and teachers with engaging ways to learn about sharks.

Why Are Kids Fascinated by Sharks?

shark anatomy – amazing sharks online course

Unfortunately, kid’s interest in sharks is often fuelled by exaggerated media stories and scary films, but it’s sharks’ appearance, immense power and ability to hunt that really grab their attention.

Incredibly, sharks have been around for at least 450 million years (since before the dinosaurs). A major reason why sharks have outlasted so many other animals, and a key reason why we are so fascinated by sharks, is their incredible anatomy, which is adapted to hunt and to survive.

Teaching Kids About Sharks Helps Protect Sharks and The Ocean

sharks & natural selection

As APEX predators, sharks sit at the top of the food chain and help control the numbers of animals below them in the food web, thus maintaining the balance of life in their marine habitat. By controlling populations of large and mid-sized predators, sharks allow smaller fish to thrive, ensuring healthy ecosystems with a diverse range of species and competitors. Take sharks out of the food chain and the whole structure could collapse.

As we depend on healthy oceans for around 70% of the air that we breath, as well as for a host of other things such as food to eat, it is in our interest to minimise human impact and protect animals that protect our ocean.

Curriculum Themes and Sharks

Through the fascinating topic of sharks, kids can learn a host of curriculum themes such as adaptation, habitats, human impact, food webs, natural selection and classification. Studying the curriculum, while being thoroughly engrossed in the subject matter, makes the process of learning all the more enjoyable and inspiring.

Learning Enrichment and Sharks

Often children who need extra support within learning enrichment respond really well to curriculum-based learning which is based around their own topic of interest. That’s where teaching ‘Sharks’ can be a really useful tool to stimulate interest and hook children in.

Sharks Course for Kids & Shark Teaching Resources

Ocean Life Education has created a host of engaging FREE shark teaching resources and activities: videos, sharks fact sheets & infographics, shark worksheets, shark activities, shark quizzes and an online shark course for kids (and adults!), with the aim of promoting understanding of sharks. All can be used as engaging shark teaching resources for educators, as well as fun shark activities for kids.

Online Sharks Course for Kids

Amazing Sharks Certificate

Become a Shark Legend with Ocean Life Education’s Amazing Sharks online course – learn the facts, bust the myths and help protect these totally awesome creatures through a fun and interactive online shark course. Personalised shark legend achievement certificate awarded on completion. Suits Age 7+.

We hope you enjoy our resources and course and are inspired to want to protect amazing sharks too.

Want to know more?

Link – ONLINE SHARKS COURSE

Link – SHARK RESOURCES

Blog – Should We Protect Sharks?

5 Awesome Shark Facts

Sharks have been around since before the dinosaurs.
Sharks are literally built to hunt.
Sharks can produce 30,000 teeth in a lifetime.
Humans depend on sharks.
You have more chance of being killed by a cow than a shark!

5 Easy Ways to Help Protect Sharks

Educate yourself and your friends about the importance of sharks – take our Amazing Sharks Course
Share your love of sharks on social media
Reduce seafood consumption and check labels thoroughly!
Don’t buy fish marked ‘flake’ – it’s shark
Join a volunteer shark conservation organisation like Sea Shepherd or Sharks & Rays of Australia & Shark Conservation Australia.

How to Inspire Students to Protect the Ocean in 2021

As environmental concerns gain increasing attention in the media, it is our responsibility to engage and educate children to ensure that they understand why the ocean is so important to us all and to inspire them to want to protect it. In the words of oceans’ pioneer Jacques Cousteau, “People protect what they love”.

So, here’s our pick of the key ocean events that we think will inspire students of all ages to want to protect the ocean in 2021.

SeaWeek Australia: 6 – 14 March 2021

2021 theme: The Ocean and Humans are Inextricably Interconnected

SeaWeek Australia is an annual major public awareness campaign which aims to educate and encourage appreciation of the sea. SeaWeek is a great opportunity to increase focus on the deeply woven relationship we have with the ocean and how our survival is underpinned by the health of our oceans.

Involve your school: www.aaee.org.au/events/seaweek

More info: www.oceanlifeeducation.com.au/celebrate-seaweek-australia/

World Oceans Day: 8 June 2021

2021 theme: The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods

World Oceans Day 2021 is on a mission to deepen understanding of our relationship with the ocean and inspire action to protect it. This year the focus is on how the ocean is our life-source and supports humanity and every other organism on Earth. The focus is on key issues such as plastic pollution, rising water temperatures, overfishing, sewage dumps and other factors impacting the ocean’s ability to thrive as it should.

Involve your school: worldoceanday.school

World Whale Day: 20 February 2021

World Whale Day began in 1980 in Maui, Hawaii. It’s all about reminding us of the challenges whales face oceans across the globe. Observed annually on the third Sunday in February, World Whale Day celebrates everything about whales.

Involve your school: www.wilderness.org.au/happy-world-whale-day

More info: https://www.oceanlifeeducation.com.au/annual-humpback-whale-migration-east-coast-australia/

World Sea Turtle Day: 16 June 2021

World Sea Turtle Day is celebrated on 16 June annually as it is the birthday of Dr. Archie Carr, the so-called “father of sea turtle biology.” His research highlighted the plight of sea turtles and drove community support to protect them and celebrate them annually on World Sea Turtle Day.

Involve your school: conserveturtles.org/june-16th-is-world-sea-turtle-day/

Shark Awareness Day: 14 July 2021

Sharks get a huge amount of bad press, yet on average one person is killed by a shark in Australia each year and heaps more are killed by horses and cows!! Without sharks in Australian waters, many ecosystems would not be sustainable, and we would be denied the pleasure of exploring amazing underwater habitats such as the world’s largest natural wonder, Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. The impact on tourism and economies would be huge. Shark Awareness Day aims to separate fact from myth and promote a positive image for these amazing creatures.

Involve your school: www.sharktrust.org/blog/shark-awareness-day

More info: https://www.oceanlifeeducation.com.au/ultimate-sharks-facts/

Check out our Annual Events Calendar for even more great reasons to celebrate the ocean in 2021.

Lock in the Dates!

Remember to lock in the dates and get planning so you can make the most of these ocean celebrations at your school. Little ripples make big waves!

Bring Learning to Life With A Live Marine Animal Program

Why not book in an Ocean Life Education program to compliment your teaching and bring it all to life. All programs are delivered by qualified Marine Educators with a passion for the ocean. They provide a lively, fun, and interactive experience with our live marine animals and are designed to educate and inspire schools and community to protect our precious marine environment.

Best Christmas Holiday Beach Activities

There are so many awesome things to do on the beach that will keep everyone occupied for hours this Christmas holiday. The beach is a great place to have fun while learning about the ocean without even knowing it!

Here’s Ocean Life Educations’ guide to the best beach activities this Christmas holiday …

1. Make a Christmas Sand Sculpture

Tools: one large bucket, various sized smaller buckets and cups and bowls, wooden spatula, beach spade.

Carving tools: gardening spade, paper straws, wooden kebab spears, knives, forks, spoons, string for shaving and shaping, various sized paint brushes, plastic spray bottle filled with fresh water (to stop sand drying out) – salt water will block the spray.

Note. Always try to take as little plastic to the beach as possible. Even with the best intentions, things often get lost in the sand.

Christmas Sand Sculpture Method:

🐠 Choose your festive theme

Maybe start off with a simple idea like a Xmas tree or why not just go for it and get straight down to a Santa bearing gifts!

🐠 Use a big bucket to make a base

Cut the bottom out of an old bucket, turn it upside down and fill it with sand to create a stable base which is too heavy to flip up. See details of how to fill the bucket below…

🐠 Sand consistency is key

Sand consistency is key to success. Add sand to water, not water to sand. Sand needs to be wet but not slushy and not powdery and dry – like a mud consistency really.

🐠 Pack the sand in the bucket

Pack the sand in the bucket – no more than 7cm thick at a time. Use a wooden spatula to ensure you are firmly packing down the sand as you go. Keep adding like this until the bucket is full. Tap the sides of the bucket with your spatula and if the consistency is good, you should easily be able to remove the bucket to expose your foundation sand block.

🐠 Build up your base

Keep adding more sand to your base and compacting it, 7cms at a time, until you have achieved the size and height that you require for your design.

🐠 Carve your sand sculpture

You are now ready to start work on carving your creation! Remember to carve your sand sculpture from the top down. Create your basic outline and get rid of any unwanted sand. Now it’s time to get down to the detail…

Happy sand carving!

2. Go Rock Pooling

Both adults and budding marine biologists will love discovering the black sea cucumbers, rose barnacles and sea stars plus many more creatures that make their home in the waters of rocky shoreline areas. Here are some great places to go rock pooling at low tide…

🦀 Point Cartwright, Buddina

A local treasure between the river mouth and the headland. Bountiful sandy rock pools with loads to see, perfect for kids to explore safely at low tide.

🦀 Kings Beach, Caloundra

Sheltered rock pools with abundant marine life and plenty more to do.

🦀 Shelly Beach

Renowned for its ankle-deep rock pools that abound with marine life.

Remember to stay safe and be mindful of the tide! And…don’t put your hands in where you cant see what’s there. You never know, there may be a Blue Ringed Octopus lurking around!!!!

Happy hunting! 🦀🦀

Want to know more about rockpools? Check out our blog : https://www.oceanlifeeducation.com.au/rock-pools-rock/

3. Get Crafty – make a sustainable Christmas tree or mobile

Sustainable driftwood Christmas trees and hanging mobiles made with washed up plastic or glass make great sustainable Christmas decorations. Adding lights and other decorations to a tree will really give it a Xmasy glow.

PROTECT OUR BEACHES

We don’t encourage people to remove shells from the beach. The beach needs them more than we do. If you are tempted, please ensure you return them to where you found them!

PLASTIC FREE BEACHES

Try not to take any plastic to the beach, things often get accidentally lost in the sand and can end up in the sea.