February 2025
February saw the end of our Ocean Connection Programme; our series of nature-based, indoor and virtual activities designed to support growth in ocean literacy and to help people feel connected to their local coast in sea.
Connecting with local politicians
In February, the HYYM team hosted a ‘fireside chat’ with Becky Gittins, MP for Clwyd East. Attendees heard from Becky on her journey to becoming a politician, what a typical day in the role is like, and her priorities for protecting our local environment and supporting communities.
Marine litter legends
The team delivered a session with Pengwern College, a local college for 16–25-year-olds with autism. We developed new learning tools to explain marine litter items, how long they take to decompose, and how to conduct a beach clean. To finish off the session, learners created two images of a beach before and after a beach clean, which can be seen below.
Images created by Pengwern College students of a beach before a beach clean (left) and after (right)
Credit: Ciara Taylor
Exploring the ocean
It was great to have the chance to take the committed group of volunteers from Pengwern College along to Blue Planet Aquarium in Chester. The group had a guided tour around the Aquarium, learning about all the different species found in Wales and beyond!
Credit: Hiraeth Y Yn Môr
Event planning
February was a big month of event planning with the end of project celebration event, One Ocean Symposium coming up in March. The event will bring together community members, Marine Conservation Society staff, other practitioners, politicians, funders, academics, regulators and more, for a day all about ocean literacy. As well as hearing from some fantastic speakers about ocean literacy today, social justice in our environment and connecting to our coast, a documentary-style film about the HYYM project will be premiered.