Alumna Attends Student Conference for Marine Education

August 21, 2019

As part of our commitment to empowering young, creative ocean leaders, we offered a sponsorship opportunity for Bow Seat alumni to attend the Student Conference at the National Marine Educators Association’s (NMEA) Annual Conference in Durham, New Hampshire. Ananya Mehta, a high school student from Oshawa, Ontario, reflects on her experience as Bow Seat’s student representative.

Attending the NMEA Student Conference was a wonderful opportunity to connect with passionate individuals working towards conserving marine environments. I wanted to attend the conference as it empowers youth and provides them with the resources needed to promote ocean awareness in their own communities. This conference was educational as it introduced me to many new topics such as the importance of mapping bodies of water and the process of rescuing marine animals. The conference also provided methods on how to take the information presented and bring it back to different communities.

Photo: Sean Russell

Photo: Sean Russell

Photo: Sean Russell

My favourite part was touring the University of New Hampshire’s marine science facilities. We were given a tour of two large pools where robotic testing for marine exploration occurs, a virtual boat that responds to varied conditions, and an interactive sea floor mapping system that responds to alterations in real time. It was very interesting to see the developments we have made in technology to help us understand our oceans and ensure a sustainable future for marine ecosystems.

I look forward to bringing what I learned back to the leadership clubs I am involved in at school. I also plan to take this information back to my city’s youth council and create an interactive booth with the resources I have gained from the conference. This will reach a wide range of age groups and improve the amount of awareness in my community in Ontario. Additionally, I have many strong connections with my elementary school, and I will be able to take the resources back and give them to teachers who facilitate the school’s environmental programs. Through reaching various school communities, we can encourage engagement of more young people in conservation. Youth involvement in fields like marine science is necessary to significantly create impact and change.

Youth are innovative and open-minded, allowing us to come up with unconventional solutions to major global issues. Youth involvement in conservation is essential to ensure a healthy future. My generation will have to bear the consequences of unsustainable practices unless immediate action is taken. It is our involvement that will preserve our right to a better future. Overall, attending the NMEA conference was a valuable experience in which I have learned a lot, and I hope to be able to further inspire youth in my community to take action on conserving one of our most irreplaceable resources.

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Explore our list of opportunities, updated monthly, for students to dive deeper into ocean conservation and creative action.