Vote for your NZAEE Seaweek 2014 ‘Ocean Champion’

Vote for your NZAEE Seaweek 2014 ‘Ocean Champion’

Nominations have flooded in for this year’s new initiative - the search for the 2014 NZAEE Seaweek “Ocean Champion”. Over 20 nominations have been received and voting to find the winner takes place from 1-28 February, so if you haven’t voted yet go towww.seaweek.org.nz and choose your favourite. The winner will be announced at the NZAEE Seaweek National Launch on the Auckland Waterfront on Monday 3 March by MP Nicky Wagner and Auckland Mayor Len Brown.

NZAEE Seaweek National Coordinator Dr Mels Barton is delighted at the response “The Ocean Champion initiative celebrates all those individuals, groups and organizations who work so hard to look after our seas and the marine life that lives in them. It’s been great to receive so many nominations in this first year of running the Ocean Champion and it just shows that people do recognise how important this work is and how special these people are that go the extra mile to protect it for all of us ”.

The theme for NZAEE’s Seaweek 2014 is “Our fragile, finite taonga- be alert to the fragility of the marine environment and its treasures. Kia mataara! Tiakina te au o te moana, he kōpīpī tōna”. The theme highlights how precious this amazing resource is that we call the sea.

Running from March 1-9, NZAEE Seaweek 2014 will call on Kiwis from all walks of life to celebrate Tangaroa’s realm, tackle issues such as marine pollution and learn about the positive impacts of initiatives such as sustainable fishing and marine reserves to look after our seas for future generations. We all contribute to taking care of our oceans.

Many events are scheduled around the country during NZAEE Seaweek 2014 and these are all listed on the NZAEE Seaweek website at www.seaweek.org.nz. Events include favourites such as ‘Goodbye Godwits’ bird watching, guided snorkeling with Experiencing Marine Reserves, a giant clean-up of Waiheke Island with Sustainable Coastlines, films, lectures, guided walks, adventure races, regattas, art exhibitions and lots of great competitions to test your photography, poetry and short story writing skills.

New for NZAEE Seaweek 2014 will be the launch of more great opportunities to get children involved in citizen science. The ‘Marine Metre Squared’ project, overseen by the NZ Marine Studies Centre, encourages schools, families, communities and iwi to get involved in collecting valuable data and monitoring their local seashore environment. The MM2 project will be launching a new guide for soft sediments during NZAEE Seaweek 2014, so that sandy and muddy shores can be assessed along with rocky shores. Data entered into the MM2 website at www.mm2.net.nz will be used to help scientists improve coastal management.

NZAEE Seaweek 2014 is coordinated by the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE) and proudly supported by ASB Community Trust, Department of Conservation, NZ Marine Studies Centre, University of Otago, Auckland Council, the DSP Print Group Ltd and many local sponsors.

ENDS

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