Environment Group: Ocean Sentinels.

On Wednesday, the 10th of April, the Environmental Committee held a fundraiser to support aquatic biodiversity as part of our Marine Biodiversity Awareness Week. This included an Ocean Accessories Day on Wednesday where people could wear sea-themed accessories (but not full mufti), making a gold coin donation for the Australian Marine Conservation Society, with ocean-themed videos, and movies, environmental actions to be part of and the judging of our art and literary competitions at lunchtime in the hall.  

The literary competition, for which students could submit up to 600 words in any genre, based on one of the sculptures in the library, closed at 8:45 on Tuesday. The art competition accepted artworks in any medium, based on the sculptures. Artworks were to be submitted by Wednesday at 8:45 in the library. Both comps were judged on Wednesday Lunch 2 in the hall. 

Marine Biodiversity Week aims to raise awareness of the mass pollution and destruction of marine ecosystems globally. It is estimated that plastic pollution kills 100,000 marine mammals every year and 81 out of 123 marine mammal species have eaten or been entangled in plastic. This destruction of ocean ecosystems greatly affects our planet’s climate and puts millions of people at risk due to rising sea levels. The ocean holds 60 times more carbon than the atmosphere, absorbing almost 30% of CO₂ emissions from human activities. 

The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) is a Not-For-Profit NGO that works to reduce pollution and damage to oceanic ecosystems, such as abolishing, whaling and supertrawlers. Marine conservation is vital to maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems to halt climate change. For example, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s most biologically diverse ecosystems but is threatened by rising temperatures, pollution, creeping industrialisation, and overfishing. AMCS was critical in establishing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and World Heritage Area and stopped coral mining and oil drilling on the Reef decades ago, but the fight for oceanic sustainability is far from over. 

It is estimated that up to 200 species of marine life go extinct every day, and 50% of the world’s coral reefs are destroyed. This is why we need your help to raise awareness for the destruction of our oceans, and to help fund AMCS to save our seas for future generations. 

Kai Hall, Year 10