Author Archives: oceanlifeeducation

Ocean Life Education celebrates 10th birthday!

ocean life education celebrates 10th birthday It’s our birthday! We’re celebrating 10 years of educating and inspiring kids to love and protect the ocean and all of its creatures that depend on it.

As a small family-run business, this is a huge milestone for us and we want to thank all of you for sharing our passion to educate children to care of the environment and inviting us into your centres and schools.

This week, we celebrated with the staff at Bella Grace Early Learning Centre in Beerwah.

ole birthday gifts

Kristy Griffiths and her team shared a birthday cake with us and presented Tracey and Richard with an amazing card from all the kids at Bella Grace Beerwah. We love it!

bella grace card

The Bella Grace centres were one of the first on the Sunshine Coast to take up the Ocean Life Discovery program when we started in 2006 and have invited us back every year since – so it was nice to share this milestone with them.

How it all began

Tracey and Richard Coward started Ocean Life Education in 2006 on the Sunshine Coast after realising there was a lack of environmental education from a young age.

At the time, they had three children under five so they knew about the entertainment programs that were provided at child care centres but believed that sustainability could be better incorporated into children’s education.

Richard was a marine ecologist and had been working at Underwater World and participating in research programs and whale rescues. Tracey was a registered nurse and midwife and had just completed an MBA at university.

As passionate divers and ocean enthusiasts, Tracey and Richard knew their skills were complimentary and believed they could have a positive impact on children’s education. The rest is history.

What our programs are about

With a strong focus on pollution and how humans affect the environment, our programs offer an exciting learning experience that leaves children with a greater sense of ownership and understanding for protecting our natural marine environment.

Richard says Ocean Life Education is an effective educational resource for schools, early learning centres, vacation care and events.

“Children get up close and touch live marine animals including sea stars, sea urchins, baby sharks and fresh water turtles. They are fascinated by how these animals function and what part they play in our oceans and waterways.”

After 10 fun years, Ocean Life Education has established itself as a leader of children’s marine education programs by bringing live creatures from the ocean into schools and early learning centres.

We’ve been featured on Channel 10’s Totally Wild children’s program several times and most recently won the Sunshine Coast Business Award for Education & Training in 2015.

10 Year Birthday Special

To celebrate our 10 year birthday, we’re offering a 10% discount on all new 2016 bookings during the month of April! Simply mention this offer when booking.

>> Book Now for your school or early learning centre <<

We can’t wait to bring the sea to you!

Richard features on Ten’s Totally Wild to talk Sharks

At Ocean Life Education, we love to talk about Sharks! We think public education is key when it comes to safety in the water and in understanding these commonly misunderstood predators.

We recently teamed up with Channel 10’s Totally Wild to clear up some of these common misconceptions.

In this segment, we look at why people encounter sharks, why sharks make mistakes and how best to avoid contact with sharks.

Sharks are important to the marine ecosystem. Without them, the ocean’s ecosystem would collapse so we need to learn to live with them to maintain a healthy ocean.

Catch Richard on Ten’s Totally Wild below. Skip forward to 1.54secs – there’s some really cool info in here and we’d love to hear from you below about what you thought, or even what you learnt!

WATCH NOW: http://tenplay.com.au/channel-eleven/totally-wild/season-23/episode-86

Have a comment? Leave it here.

If your students love sharks, you can book our Shark Discovery program for vacation care where we talk more about all of this and more!

Richard talks Shark feeding habits with Ten’s Totally Wild

Summer is rapidly approaching and more people will be heading to our magnificent coastal regions to enjoy a dip in the ocean. But while you’re diving the waves this summer, will you have a small worry in the back of your mind? Cue cliche shark music…da dum…da dum…

At Ocean Life Education, we love to educate the public about safety in the water, especially concerning sharks.

There’s been much discussion around sharks recently following several incidents with surfers at popular Eastern beaches. We thought this was a great time to team up with Channel 10’s Totally Wild to clear up some common misconceptions.

This week, we headed to the beach with Totally Wild to film a segment on why people encounter sharks, why sharks make mistakes and how best to avoid contact with sharks. Our view is that the better educated the public is about sharks the better choices they’ll make, and therefore the safer they will be.

Sharks are important to the marine ecosystem, we need to learn to live with them and look after them, to maintain a healthy ocean.

Richard’s Safe Swimming Tips this Summer

Don’t swim too early in the morning, too late in the afternoon or at night.
Don’t swim in dark or murky water, especially near rivers or estuaries.
Don’t swim at beaches near rivers after heavy rainfall.
Don’t swim in areas where sharks are known to visit.
Swim between the flags, where lifesavers are watching out. There is a reason for where they put the flags and when they open and close the beach.
Understand sharks, be educated and mark responsible choices when and where to go into the water.

The Sunshine Coast Daily were aware of us filming the segment and thought the timing was right to put an article in last Tuesday’s paper to help spread the message.

Sunshine Coast Daily pg7 Tuesday, 24 November 2015

Read the full article on the Sunshine Coast Daily website.

The filming with Totally Wild went well and we will let you know when it’s going to air. Keep an eye out on our Facebook page.

My only reservation – the SC Daily could have used more touch up flare on the picture of yours truly in the paper!

Richard C.

Winner of the Sunshine Coast Business Awards 2015

Ocean Life Education winner of the 2015 Sunshine Coast Business Award

Photo: facebook.com/SCEIBAwards

Wow what a ride the last few weeks have been! We are very happy to have won the Sunshine Coast Business Award for Education & Training. A real testament to the wonderful staff that help make us a fantastic and effective educational resource.

A huge thank you goes out to all you amazing teachers at schools, child care centres and vacation care that invite us in and let us help breed new generations of environmentally savvy custodians.

Our business is not successful without you and your ongoing support. We look forward to maintaining our relationship and continuing to make environmental learning fun, engaging and interactive.

Tracey and Richard attended the Gala event at the Novotel Twin Waters along with Alison (marketing) and Nathan (presenter) with wife, Lauren.

Needless to say we were all so happy for the recognition of Ocean Life Education, a business with purpose that we are all so passionate about.

Tracey and Richard Coward at the Sunshine Coast Business Awards 2015

Photo: facebook.com/SCEIBAwards

Tracey and Richard Coward, just moments after receiving the award.

OLE accepting award

Here’s Tracey and Richard receiving the award. Richard kept the acceptance speech short and sweet but said “receiving this award is a win for the environment”.

You can check out more photos from the Sunshine Coast Business Awards event on our Facebook page.