Author Archives: oceanlifeeducation

OceanZen turns plastic waste into bikinis

oceanzen bikini steph

Have you met Steph? She’s one of our Ocean Life Education presenters and probably visited your centre recently to deliver our Ocean Discovery or vacation care programs. There’s more to this girl than just her passion for inspiring children to love the ocean, she’s also created her own sustainable swimwear label, OceanZen Bikini.

Steph started her bikini label while studying an environmental science degree. She knew she wanted to do something unique coupled with her passion for ocean conservation.

Sheph has now recreated the OceanZen bikini and relaunched her sustainable line made from recycled plastic bottles and discarded fishing net fibres taken from the ocean!

The plastics are sourced direct from the ocean and then sent to a factory to be cleaned, finely chopped and processed into a fine yarn that is 100 per cent regenerated. It is then turned into a high quality Italian lycra for swimwear.

Steph says “OceanZen Bikini is saving the ocean one bikini at a time!”

“It’s not just about awesome, functional, stylish and eye catching bikinis with OceanZen. It’s also about an environmentally conscious brand and our dream combing both passions; marine conversation and swimwear together.”

OceanZen also raises awareness with marine conservation projects and environmental updates via its social media.

“The ocean is our last true wilderness that we have left to explore and it needs to be protected,” says Steph.

oceanzen swimming

“Research shows that only 1 in 5 plastic bottles actually get recycled after single use and every second approximately 1,500 plastic bottles end up either in the ocean or in waste landfills. These numbers are rising. No wonder our oceans are polluted, no wonder our beautiful marine animals are suffering!”

Steph held a launch party on the Sunshine Coast this weekend and will debut her collection at the upcoming Sunshine Coast Fashion Festival in October.

We love what Steph has achieved, her motivation to get out there and ‘do something’ is inspiring. Imagine what we can achieve if we all combine our individual passions with a love for our oceans and the Planet.

Ocean Life Education celebrates 10th birthday!

ocean life education celebrates 10th birthdayIt’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

Richard talking sharks on tens totally wild show

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.

Ocean Life Education Newspaper clipping

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.