Celebrating World Ocean Day
June 8th was World Ocean Day, designated to recognizing the importance of 70% of our planet’s surface. For local underwater photographer, filmmaker, author, and environmental speaker Annie Crawley and her team of scuba diving kids and teens, that Tuesday also the first time they were able to gather in over a year. Annie and her Dive Team were able to make the most of the pandemic year with “Wet Wednesdays”, diving during the students’ days off from virtual school. Restrictions on travel encouraged the underwater explorers to dive deeper into the local Salish Sea, prompting them to develop the “My Underwater Backyard” project. Using underwater photos, videos, and storytelling, the team reveals what lies just below the surface of the Edmonds waterfront.
Diving families and friends gathered safely at the Edmonds Theater on World Ocean Day to enjoy a night hearing stories from students about their year of diving, viewing their underwater photos and watching the premier of the film “My Underwater Backyard”. Though the event was not open to the public, the Team is hopeful that there will be more opportunities like this in the future.
This spring, Annie shared the ocean with more than 30 schools in the Edmonds School District, bringing a change of pace to the normal Zoom schedule with her multimedia presentations. For the enthusiastic and talented speaker, Annie was once again in her element in front of the masked crowd. She opened the World Ocean Day event with an inspiring message about our ocean, “We can use our imagination to rethink our relationship with water. Our ocean gives us life—and every breath we take connects us to the ocean and each other.” She built her team on the foundation of “being a voice for the ocean”. You don’t need to be a diver to commit to this. “Being a voice for the ocean means educating others about the amazing ocean life that we love. From the largest charismatic whales to the tiny phytoplankton that feed the world, every creature is important to us. We strive to talk about the ocean everyday and stand up for it when it is being mistreated.”
The first student to kick off the show was Danny, a 14-year-old underwater photographer who has been diving with Annie for three years. Danny’s work this year focused on documenting the unique characteristics and importance of crustaceans, like crabs and shrimp. “I never thought I could learn so much about the Salish Sea,” said Danny. He took his knowledge, gathered from research and astute observations while diving, to paper and wrote blogs. “My goal was to get people to feel like they’re diving alongside of me.” You can read Danny’s blog here.
While developing the My Underwater Backyard project this year, it’s become abundantly clear to Annie that education and the city end where the land meets the ocean. The goal of the project was to extend this boundary so the community will realize the amazing life that lives alongside us. We need to appreciate it so we know what is worth protecting.
Through visual storytelling, Annie illustrates human interconnectedness to the ocean. The ocean gives us life, but our actions directly impact the ocean, too. This becomes especially clear when we examine our local water. Annie’s team of divers knows that rainy days cause bad visibility underwater due to runoff. All the pollutants from our city flood right into the ocean. Edmonds Underwater Park sits at the end of Main Street, and receives the trash and chemicals that aren’t disposed of properly.
It’s important to recognize challenges facing our ocean while also preserving hope for our future. That is what the young ocean activists provide us with. At just 11 years old, Fletcher loves to dive in the park. His enthusiasm is infectious, especially as he tells stories about the giant lingcod that are bigger than him. Santi is another young student on the team, at 13 he is an underwater photographer, Rescue Diver, and Master Scuba Diver. He says, “photography helps me express myself to others and share what I feel in the ocean with friends and family on land.” Santi’s highlight reel from the year included beautiful photos of little green anemones, offering a new perspective into the life of the intertidal zone.
“It’s a joy for me to see the ocean through their eyes,” says Annie, after viewing more of the photographers’ photos on the big screen. They will remember this day as the first time their work was shown on the big screen. Fiona, Avery, Elise, Max, Tommy, and Daniel impressed everyone with their work.
You can learn to dive when you are 10 years old, but Annie didn’t learn to dive until after college. The older teens serve as leaders for younger teammates, always lending a helping hand. Kai and Jaimie started diving with Annie at age 12, but now at age 16, they are the first ever certified Junior Divemasters. The scuba diving agency PADI asked Annie and her team to pilot the program. Through diving, the teens learn responsibility and independence. Teammate Dylan spoke about his experience becoming independent diver, “You have to be confident in your skills, because you’re doing everything yourself. That includes knowing when to cancel a dive if it’s unsafe.”
Diving also opens up the door to many career ideas for students. Harrison spoke about the special Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA) which many of the dive team members choose to attend. Those interested in marine research took a special scientific diving course created just for the team. They learned environmental survey methods and how to identify species.
Marine biology isn’t the only career that involves the ocean, though. We heard from Divemaster Elizabeth, a student at the University of Washington studying environmental policy. Though diving and her involvement with the team, Elizabeth learned the importance of political action. She spoke at the Save Edmonds Beach campaign to stop the development of the waterfront, and her story is featured in Annie’s newest book PLANET OCEAN Why We All Need A Healthy Ocean. “It was the first time I felt impowered to use my voice,” says Elizabeth. Now she hopes to put protection in place to save our ocean. Instructor and recent Western Washington University graduate, Cameron, also shared how diving influenced his career. As an environmental consultant, he is able to use his safety and leadership skills gained from diving every day.
This team of passionate and talented underwater explorers is inspiring our community and our future. They are the eyes and voice for the ocean. Be inspired by their work and support them by listening and learning. We need to work together to save our ocean, and we don’t have to wait until June 8th to take action. Every day is world ocean day.
If you want to share ocean love, consider gifting friends or family with PLANET OCEAN Why We All Need A Healthy Ocean, or even donate a copy to a school in need.
