Kids Ocean Day Hong Kong – Where’s My Reef?
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
When young children can see and do something spectacular, it creates a lasting impression.
When many of them do something spectacular together, it can create a powerful movement and a lasting mindset.
This is what Doug Woodring and Ocean Recovery Alliance are helping do within their open water swimming community in Hong Kong especially with their human aerial art extravaganzas.
Over 900 Hong Kong students formed a giant fish in honor of Kids Ocean Day today, sending a global message to stop consuming reef fish in order to protect the Earth’s coral reefs.
The image was accompanied by chopsticks and the words “Where’s My Reef,” and in Chinese characters 節制 which means refrain. The Hong Kong government was supportive and spread information about the event to all its departments.
Based on an original drawing by Giselle Li, a 7-year-old student from Victoria Shanghai Academy in Hong Kong, the image was brought to life on the beach by international aerial artist John Quigley of Spectral Q with partner support from the Malibu Foundation who has run Kids Ocean Day in Los Angeles, California for 22 years.
“Today the children have spoken out, using art as a way of expressing their love for the ocean by creating the shape of a giant reef fish. Hong Kong plays a critical role in the demand and consumption for reef fish in the region, and most of the community does not realize or understand where this type of fish comes from,” said Woodring. “Unlike fish from the open water, fish on the reef play a critical role in keeping the ecosystem in balance—removing one or two species from the reef by overfishing can be detrimental to the whole thing. And reefs, the ‘forests’ of the ocean, are responsible for over 25% of all life in the sea.”
2015 is the third year that Kids Ocean Day took place in Hong Kong, the only one of its type in Asia. A partnership with Ocean Recovery Alliance, The Malibu Foundation and Spectral Q, the event is preceded by a week of ocean talks at local school assemblies. “The program is about raising awareness to facilitate behavioral change. Throughout the year, we taught students that beneath the surface of the ocean, animals are being impacted by our actions on land – sometimes eating plastic, getting tangled in nets, and being impacted by pollution. Today, we took them to the beach for more education and beach appreciation to bring engagement around preservation,” said Malibu Foundation and Kids Ocean Day founder and executive director Michael Klubock.
Neil Harvey, CEO, Hong Kong, Credit Suisse, the event’s presenting sponsor, said, “Credit Suisse is delighted to support the public education initiatives of Ocean Appreciation Month 2015. Oceans and seas across the world are under significant threat from over-fishing and pollution, and we hope that through our sponsorship of this event, we can help to promote public awareness of environmental preservation and encourage young children in Hong Kong to appreciate the ocean.”
 Video is courtesy of Sean Baylis. Alex Hofford provided the two high aerial photographs.
Good drone coverage is here.
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association
When young children can see and do something spectacular, it creates a lasting impression.
When many of them do something spectacular together, it can create a powerful movement and a lasting mindset.
This is what Doug Woodring and Ocean Recovery Alliance are helping do within their open water swimming community in Hong Kong especially with their human aerial art extravaganzas.
Over 900 Hong Kong students formed a giant fish in honor of Kids Ocean Day today, sending a global message to stop consuming reef fish in order to protect the Earth’s coral reefs.
The image was accompanied by chopsticks and the words “Where’s My Reef,” and in Chinese characters 節制 which means refrain. The Hong Kong government was supportive and spread information about the event to all its departments.
Based on an original drawing by Giselle Li, a 7-year-old student from Victoria Shanghai Academy in Hong Kong, the image was brought to life on the beach by international aerial artist John Quigley of Spectral Q with partner support from the Malibu Foundation who has run Kids Ocean Day in Los Angeles, California for 22 years.
“Today the children have spoken out, using art as a way of expressing their love for the ocean by creating the shape of a giant reef fish. Hong Kong plays a critical role in the demand and consumption for reef fish in the region, and most of the community does not realize or understand where this type of fish comes from,” said Woodring. “Unlike fish from the open water, fish on the reef play a critical role in keeping the ecosystem in balance—removing one or two species from the reef by overfishing can be detrimental to the whole thing. And reefs, the ‘forests’ of the ocean, are responsible for over 25% of all life in the sea.”
2015 is the third year that Kids Ocean Day took place in Hong Kong, the only one of its type in Asia. A partnership with Ocean Recovery Alliance, The Malibu Foundation and Spectral Q, the event is preceded by a week of ocean talks at local school assemblies. “The program is about raising awareness to facilitate behavioral change. Throughout the year, we taught students that beneath the surface of the ocean, animals are being impacted by our actions on land – sometimes eating plastic, getting tangled in nets, and being impacted by pollution. Today, we took them to the beach for more education and beach appreciation to bring engagement around preservation,” said Malibu Foundation and Kids Ocean Day founder and executive director Michael Klubock.
Neil Harvey, CEO, Hong Kong, Credit Suisse, the event’s presenting sponsor, said, “Credit Suisse is delighted to support the public education initiatives of Ocean Appreciation Month 2015. Oceans and seas across the world are under significant threat from over-fishing and pollution, and we hope that through our sponsorship of this event, we can help to promote public awareness of environmental preservation and encourage young children in Hong Kong to appreciate the ocean.”
 Video is courtesy of Sean Baylis. Alex Hofford provided the two high aerial photographs.
Good drone coverage is here.
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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