Cape Town - The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation has unveiled its Oceans Campus programme, bringing together over 400 Cape Town teachers to champion ocean conservation.

The Ocean Campus is the next step in the Two Oceans Aquarium’s journey in marine education.

It was introduced to teachers, students and sponsors with a full day of activities last week, including free access to the aquarium and a behindthe-scenes tour for over 400 teachers, sponsored by the Two Oceans Aquarium.

To date, the aquarium has facilitated curriculum-aligned education programmes for students through various mediums.

Currently, its foundation works with over 100 000 students every year across its early childhood development and school programmes, offering a wide range of enrichment courses.

Speaking at the launch, Oceans Campus head, Leigh Meinert, said the initiative was also in response to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) call for increased species conservation efforts, aiming to create powerful advocates for marine life through education and engagement.

Meinert reiterated the IUCN’s call made in 2019 for organisations to invest resources, increase capacity and expertise to ensure relevant information about the world’s oceans reached the right audiences to leverage the most effective changes

“The Commission called on aquariums and other such organisations to scale-up their commitment to species conservation.

“This is how we are responding to that call.

“The Oceans Campus is aptly poised to respond to that global call, which also places our society at the centre of conservation.

“Through the Ocean Campus we will refocus our conservation education to ensure we encourage and catalyse both individual behavioural and broader social change.

“We are already a leader in South Africa in marine education and ocean literacy and with the launch of the Ocean Campus we will enhance our capacity for more action and solution-focused approaches.

“This will help compel our audiences to address and act on behalf of urgent ocean issues,” Meinert said.

Two Oceans Aquarium chairperson, Ann Lamont, said that the foundation was excited to bring Meinert on board.

Lamont said Meinert’s experience and leadership, supported by the Two Oceans Aquarium and the V&A Waterfront would respond to the need for urgent action to address the negative human-driven changes to the ocean.

“We need to address matters regarding our oceans urgently if we hope to pass on to our children a thriving and productive ocean that can support people,” Lamont said.

Deputy head of Ocean Campus, Bianca Engel, said: “Over the years many young people who have come through the Aquarium Foundation’s educational programmes have gone on to become scientists, environmental educators, conservationists and activists. Imagine the possibilities for future marine careers now that Marine Sciences can be taken as a Matric subject,” she said.

nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za

Cape Argus