Call of the Sea

THE CALL OF THE SEA

“People ask: Why should I care about the ocean? Because the ocean is the cornerstone of earth's life support system, it shapes climate and weather. It holds most of life on earth. 97% of earth's water is there. It's the blue heart of the planet — we should take care of our heart. It's what makes life possible for us. We still have a really good chance to make things better than they are. They won't get better unless we take the action and inspire others to do the same thing. No one is without power. Everybody has the capacity to do something.”
― Sylvia A. Earle

SALTWATER WISHES for the New Year
The joy on these primary school kids faces above sums up one of the reasons (and reward) as to why we create programs on Pelican1.

Our work on Pelican1 (and building her) has been inspired and spurred on by understanding the threat of human-induced climate change and an awareness of the huge impact humans are having on the health of the world's Ocean. Designing collaborative and educational programs at sea to help research and communicate the importance and centrality of the Ocean, was one way to answer that call from the sea. The links between our own health and the health of the Ocean are inextricably intwined. The call to action over the last 15 years since we launched Pelican1 has only increased exponentially.

I remember so many years ago, sailing with Elders up to White Sands in Cape York on the Great Barrier Reef and a Wuthathi Elder saying to me- "Why aren't there more people aware of the changes that are happening in our Sea Country? Old patterns that we relied on for thousands of years are changing.."

Last year was a difficult one to navigate. It certainly made me, as a director of our programs over so many years, question the nature of what we are doing. One reason was political. It was hard to believe that our country's leaders would continue to deny the facts of global warming, even though the evidence was so clearly in view as early as 20 years ago. Scientifically we have been aware a lot longer than that and criminally, the corporate world that has profited most from our carbon-intensive civilisation were aware then too. One of the highlights of 2019 was the second climate march organised by the students in Melbourne, which made it clear that the youth and the many people supporting them, were not going to take this inaction lying down. The march is still the largest ever organised in Australia. Go students!

In the New Year release of Government papers, it was shown that 20 years ago, politicians were made aware of the facts but failed to act. And to see our country idling at this point of time, is like the the tension of watching The Shining and Jack Nicholson about to turn into a deranged murderer. Made worse by the fact that we are in an enviable situation to have the resources to transition to a carbon neutral economy.
So, in the face of political inaction and blindness, it felt that perhaps we, as a small NGO, needed to change tack, so to speak.

And yet - joy and learning and connection are still vital ingredients in these increasingly turbulent times. With that in mind, the good ship Pelican1 is starting the 15th Two Bays in February, 2020. We are also planning a sound work and marquee to be part of the Geelong Festival of Sails for Survival weekend at the end of January. Deep listening is a needed element in helping to formulate approaches to our present changing climate and using sound to connect people to the watery environs is a wonderful tool for engaging people in the world they usually do not see.

We hope that this year will be a terrific one for collaborating, sharing knowledge, learning, agitating and seeing the changes required to keep our finite world in safe waters. As Sylvia Earle puts it we all have the capacity to do something, so all we can do is get onto it!

Pictures below features
1/ N'arwee't Carolyn Briggs (Boonwurrung Elder)on board with kids from the Kingston Koori Mob.
2/ Harry Breidahl takes a Sea Classroom on Pelican1.
3/ Pelican1 taking the Pavillion School out onto Port Phillip Bay (Nairm).
4 / Harry teaching on the trampoline (with a lump of coal).
5/ Mark Rodrigue from Parks Vic taking a group out to Barallier Island in Western Port.


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**                                               JANUARY ISSUE 2020
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Saltwater Projects had a busy start to last year with Two Bays 2019. This year 2020, will mark the 15th year of this annual program run in Port Phillip and Western Port Bays. We had a terrific crew led by Captain Garry McKechnie (and fellow Saltwater Director) with Thomas Nance joining us from New Zealand as first mate and Zara Houghton as cook and sea sickness advisor.

Ocean Literacy is a key theme of Two Bays and we rely on the Ocean Literacy (https://www.marine-ed.org/ocean-literacy/overview) framework started by the NMEA in America to help structure the learning program with schools. Thanks to the Victorian Bay Fund, we could broaden the school community and include Catholic Primary schools from the Dandenong region of Melbourne.

We worked again with the dream team-marine educators Harry and Jane Breidahl from Nautilus Education and a diverse range of talented people, who are working in the marine environment.
N'arwee't Carolyn Briggs joined us again, working with the Kingston Koori Mob led by Katrina Amon.

Sarah Diplock from VACCA (Victorian Aboriginal Childcare Agency) also introduced us to students from the Pavillion School and we had a great day out with young people involved in their school program, which are designed to help kids who are not getting the support they need in mainstream schooling.

Citizen Science days with Parks Victoria were a great success again. Many of the people involved are inspired to join their local friends of marine parks groups or learn more to support the marine environment. Parks Vic also gathered ports managers for an ocean dialogue about ports and pest management along the Port Phillip shoreline from Mt Martha to Sorrento.

With support from the EPA and Oceanographer Randall Lee, we had continuous water quality testing on board and did micro plastic surveys. We had terrific support from Parks Vic rangers and EPA scientists joining us on the school days. The kids really loved seeing rangers and science in action.

Most of our engagement work is done in the marine parks that are part of the diverse beauty of this Southern temperate marine region. We are home to more endemic sea life here than the Great Barrier Reef.

We had the support of some excellent volunteers with marine and environmental knowledge to share. Thank you in particular to Marg O'Toole, Victoria Wasilewski, Wayne Hill, Andrew Skeoch, Marine Mammal Foundation and everyone who helped the program come alive. Their knowledge, passion and skills help create a rich learning environment in our floating sea-classroom.

Two Bays is a broad partnership program and we really enjoyed working with all the organisations who came on board in 2019 including the Catholic Education Dept, Parks Victoria, EPA, Sustainability Victoria, Kingston Koori Mob and VACCA. Special thanks to Greg Woolford, who coordinated so many of the Catholic Primary schools to get on board.

We are currently finalising our dates for the 2020 program and if you have interest in joining us, please do get in contact with me on saltwaterproj@optusnet.com.au

Pelican1 had her Winter maintenance in her home berth of Bermagui. We kept active at the end of Winter by running tours to observe and celebrate the migrating whales, heading to their Summer feeding grounds in Antarctica.

Currently Bermagui is in the shadow of the huge Currowan fire and, as with the rest of the fire affected regions in Australia, it is an anxious and devastating New Year. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the fires and we can only hope that the extraordinary fire-fighters and people coordinating the emergency effort, with help from the weather, can slowly grapple and control these seemingly endless monster fires.

I wish to express my gratitude to the extraordinary crew of people Pelican1 gathers. From the people who initially invested in the idea of building a boat to connect people to the Ocean, to all the people who have played a role in our projects over the years. I've always loved the microcosm that being at sea creates and it feels a hopeful place when everyone is working to the same end.
And finally, thank you, for being interested in our work and helping us sustain our vision to care for our precious Ocean home. And here's cheers to the next decade named by the UN as the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Happy New Year!
Best Wishes for the year ahead.



Natalie Davey. Director: Saltwater Projects