Plymouth is championing World Ocean Day through an ongoing raft of globally-significant initiatives celebrating its unique connection to the sea.
Britain’s Ocean City, famed for its maritime heritage spanning hundreds of years, is today at the heart of 21st century work to protect, preserve and promote the precious resources of the sea.
Its strategic position, as the port city for the southwest overlooking Plymouth Sound, is key to its success in the past, present and future – proving the perfect location to attract scientists, residents and visitors to its innovative, world-leading businesses and cultural hubs.
As one of the oldest continually studied marine areas on earth, Plymouth Sound is recognised internationally for its marine science and technology and the Maritime UK South West partnership – an alliance of public, business and research organisations – brings together the breadth of the ocean economy, creating an ocean technology cluster that has become a global leader in its field.
June 8 is the officially designated day to champion the ocean and unite the world in protecting and restoring all of our shared seas, with the focus on aiming to protect at least 30% of our blue planet by 2030. The Ocean Conservation Trust which runs Plymouth’s National Marine Aquarium is celebrating World Ocean Day with a number of events but Plymouth also has a range of ongoing globally-important initiatives highlighting The Ocean City’s unrivalled maritime credentials, including the launch of a new world-class research centre:
The Ocean Conservation Trust, is launching its I Can See The Sea And The Sea Sees Me campaign, encouraging people to engage with the sea and share their images of this special stretch of water around Plymouth.
People can take a photo from where they can see the sea, then share the image, tagging the location and using the hashtag #ISeeTheSea23
Those who don’t live by the sea can share a photo of their favourite Ocean memory or a picture of an Ocean scene. Because the campaign isn’t just about seeing the sea, it’s about recognising that the sea sees you too, contributors will be asked to include details on how the image makes them feel and how those feelings help them connect with the Ocean. They will also be encouraged to take part in the Think Ocean Challenge.
The Trust is also a founding partner of World Ocean Day for Schools, a free, digital resource tool for educators and parents. This year the trust will be hosting a surf-themed fitness class from its base at The National Marine Aquarium. ‘Surf Fit’ will be filmed and shared to the platform for schools and groups across the UK to engage with.
Other World Ocean Day events taking place at The National Marine Aquarium in June include special Workshops, World Ocean Day badge making, Yoga sessions, Ocean Conservations events, a competition as well as various snorkelling and boat trips. More information will be available on their website.
Nicola Bridge, Head of Ocean Advocacy and Engagement at the Trust says: “We’re all connected to the ocean – even in the city – and Plymouth has many places to see the ocean from. We’re looking for people to share different ways in which we can connect with the ocean every day. Seeing their views of the sea on World Ocean Day will be amazing but we’re also keen to encourage people to take the Think Ocean Challenge, a fun quiz to identify your #thinkoceanpersonality.”
The Marine Biological Association’s (MBA) new Marine Microbiome Centre of Excellence. Launching this month (June), this world-class research centre will focus on the vast and diverse microscopic world of the ocean to help understand ocean health and the impacts of climate change.
MBA Chief Executive, Professor Willie Wilson, says: “Aligned to the new Centre, we have launched a major recruitment drive that will bring some of the top jobs in Marine Biology to Plymouth.”
From the seashore to the seafloor, from the microbiome to the megafauna; and from Plymouth Sound to the Pacific, the Marine Biological Association is on a voyage to discover more about our ocean and all aspects of sea life.
Professor Willie Wilson added: “This is a turning point for the MBA and Plymouth, we have the potential to play a much greater role in society than we currently do and these exciting new roles will help achieve greater scale of services for the city”.
Through its world-leading Data Team, the MBA is the UK marine node for the global iNaturalist network (https://uk.inaturalist.org/), an innovative online community and recording app connecting millions of scientists and naturalists worldwide to identify, record and share observations of the world around us.
Dan Lear, Head of Data, Information and Technology at the MBA said: “These data contribute to national and worldwide assessments of marine biodiversity, so by recording marine life locally people can make a difference to policy decisions at the highest level.”
Plymouth and South Devon Freeport is already being recognised as a leader in innovation and its Innovation Hotbed will build on the area’s state-of-the-art marine assets and facilities to become a centre of excellence for the testing, development and manufacturing of the latest marine technologies.
Richard May, CEO, Plymouth and South Devon Freeport, says: "Plymouth with its natural and physical assets provides exactly the right conditions for prototype testing, ocean trials and enabling offshore renewable support. State-of-the-art innovation assets and facilities within Plymouth including Smart Sound Plymouth, the University of Plymouth's COAST Laboratory and Cyber-SHIP Lab, and the National Centre for Coastal Autonomy make Plymouth a global centre of excellence for the developing, testing, and manufacturing of the latest marine technology.
“The Plymouth and South Devon Freeport creates a unique opportunity to catalyse deeper innovation for the sector by supporting, developing and accelerating these assets, facilities and opportunities with increased investment, trade and skills.
“The Freeport and its partners have already been recognised by government for leading innovation in key sub-sector specialisms in Marine Autonomy, Connected Ocean and Clean Propulsion solutions. They have provided funding to set up the Maritime Regulatory Innovation Framework (MRIF) in partnership with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to create a national testing sandbox for forming new regulations for Marine Autonomy and Clean Propulsion systems in Plymouth waters. This furthers our partnership with other nations and in some ways the opportunity to lead the creation of standards and appropriate international regulations in these growth markets for the blue/green economy.”
Plymouth Sound’s National Marine Park (NMP) the UK’s first and only marine park, is helping to develop new green marine employment opportunities, encouraging people to protect the ocean and piloting projects to tackle challenges such as climate change.
Elaine Hayes, interim CEO of the NMP says: “Our oceans are the lungs of the planet and, as such, are vitally important. At the National Marine Park we’re dedicated to helping our own swathe of the ocean and everyone can do something to contribute to the protection of our oceans. Our amazing Sound is a fabulous place to enjoy the sea and we’re inviting people to come and walk alongside the ocean, paddle, swim or just soak in its majesty.”
The University of Plymouth is one of the leading voices in clean maritime research and innovation. It excels in transdisciplinary applied research addressing clean maritime challenges in domains, such as: offshore renewable energy; engineering; marine autonomy; green shipping and maritime cyber security.
The University is also a founding partner of the National Centre for Coastal Autonomy, the UK’s first autonomous fully integrated coastal observing and monitoring network. It uses the latest autonomous technologies to drive towards a net zero oceanographic capability, delivering world-leading and cutting-edge science. The hi-res data it produces will support policymakers and other organisations to enable good stewardship and an enhanced understanding of the coastal environment.
In addition to world-class education and research opportunities, choosing the University of Plymouth is a lifestyle choice for many students who come to Britain’s Ocean City. The next undergraduate Open Day is on Wednesday 21 June: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/open-days
For more information on World Ocean Day, visit https://worldoceanday.org/