Youth to Sea Activities

April of 2022, I registered for the Ocean Wise Program, Youth to Sea, which is a leadership program that teaches teenagers about ocean conservation. I was very grateful and excited for being selected! On May 7th, Brittany (one of the program specialists) held the program orientation that discussed Ocean Wise's goals, Youth to Sea program specifics, and the different placements within the program. I signed up for the WEX Plastics Placement because the program will focus on informing us about how to ameliorate the damage of plastics on the environment, how to collect and employ data that we gather from shoreline clean ups, and how to create a circular economy. I look forward to participating in shoreline clean ups and learning about the circular economy.

From May 13th to 15th, Youth to Sea organized a trip to Camp Jubilee. When we arrived, we introduced ourselves and played games that tested our comfort zones for various activites. In addition, I lived in a cabin with six others, and I learnt how to communicate with people more efficiently. Then, we went shelter building; it was very fun and tested our teamwork skills. On the 14th, while walking on a trail, a camp leader, Eric, taught us about the native medical practices and how they lived on the land. This camping trip was my first time  that I was away from my parents for a few days. At first, I imagined the trip to be very challenging, but everyone was very warmhearted and helped me whenever I needed. From this trip, I learnt to be more outgoing and open-minded about meeting new people.

On May 29th, I went to my first shoreline clean up. From 1-4 pm, we picked up garbage from Sunset Beach to the Vancouver Aquarium. We were split into groups of four to five people and worked as a team. One person would be responsible for recording the amount of specific garbage that we picked up while the others used tongs to pick up garbage. There were thousands of cigarette butts and countless pieces of plastic on the beaches. Today, I got to see the impact of human pollution on the environment in real life. 

On June 4th, I went to the Coal Harbour Community Centre to learn about the types plastic, such as PETE, and the effect of pollution on the environment. Our program specialists showed us some past projects that the previous plastic team took to decrease the number of cigarette butts on the beaches. Then, we also brainstormed some methods that we can take to ameliorate the pollution problem. Here, my group and I invented the idea of making 3D-printed models (from recycled plastic) to convey the consequences of pastic on the marine life and spread awareness about ocean conservation.

On June 19th, we went on a kayaking excursion and saw a lot of cute seals. They swam cheerfully in Indian Arm which encouraged me to protect the oceans and save their habitat from excessive plastic usage. In the future, I wish to create a circular economy that would help mitigate these issues.

On July 8th, we went on a shoreline cleanup at Stanley Park, and I was once again amazed by the amount of garbage on the beaches. There were sterofoam pieces, plastic bottles, and cigarette butts lying all over the beach. I can not image the damage that we did to our oceans and the marine animals. I want to spread awareness on the pollution that we created in the environment.

On July 20th, our program leaders held a workshop, teaching public speaking skills. Through a variety of fun activities, we learnt about the audience's behaviour during a presentation, a presenter's attitude during a presentation, and how to emphasize your message. At the end of the workshop, I started to not fear pronouncing a word wrong and always stay positive and calm during a presentation.

On July 31th, we  went on a whale watching excursion and saw numerous marine animals such as sea lions, sea otters, andd humpback whales. In addition, we learnt much about the animals' behaviours, habitats, and habits. The crew naturalist also informed us that the humpback whale was extinct in the English Bay region due to whaling. Moreover, plastics and noise pollution are also harming the animals' wellbeing. I feel sorry for the marine animals that are going extinct due to our careless behaviours

On August 8th, we conducted a shoreline cleanup along Sunset Beach. I was shocked when we calculated the amount of garbage collected in four hours. In total, we found 1728 cigarette butts, 288 plastic pieces, 166 bottle caps, and hundreds of other garbage pieces.

On August 12th, we went to Stanley Park to remove some of the invasive species in the region: English Ivy, Himalayan Blackberry, and European Mountain Ash. According to the specialist, within a few years, these invasive species are capable of outgrowing the local species. We learnt about the impacts that these plants have on the native ecosystems and how to properly remove them. The photo on the left demonstrates the amount of English Ivy that we removed in four hours. This photo also shows the threat that native plants face when competing with invading species.