Healthy Oceans, Healthy Humans
Project Leader: Kathleen Frith
Background
Healthy Ocean, Healthy Humans, based at Harvard Medical School's Centre for Health and the Global Environment, is the first concerted effort to inspire ocean conservation through a human health lens. Partnering with schools, conservation organizations, aquariums and learning centres around the world, the project aims to reach millions of people, especially young people, with the message that all life on Earth, including our own, depends on the ocean. The program believes that by using the powerful, direct connection of human health, consistently ranked at the top of people’s concerns, the project will inspire people to understand how the ocean fosters human life.
The project consists of several educational tools including exhibitory, curriculum, films and community events. The centrepiece of the project is the film “Once Upon A Tide.” Narrated by Academy Award winner Linda Hunt and featuring the talented and highly creative animation of LAIKA/HOUSE and the production expertise of Sea Studios Foundation, the film, unlike conventional natural history documentaries, is a fictional narrative that blends the moral and visual elements of a fairy tale to inspire young people and their families to recognize the importance of ocean conservation.
The project consists of several educational tools including exhibitory, curriculum, films and community events. The centrepiece of the project is the film “Once Upon A Tide.” Narrated by Academy Award winner Linda Hunt and featuring the talented and highly creative animation of LAIKA/HOUSE and the production expertise of Sea Studios Foundation, the film, unlike conventional natural history documentaries, is a fictional narrative that blends the moral and visual elements of a fairy tale to inspire young people and their families to recognize the importance of ocean conservation.
Aims & objectives
The overall goal of the project is to inspire marine conservation by helping people understand that human health depends on a healthy ocean. Specific targets for participants in the Healthy Ocean, Healthy Humans project include:
- Awareness that ocean health affects human health and well-being, regardless of whether people live on the coast or inland.
- Knowledge of how oceans contribute to human health.
- Understanding of current threats to ocean integrity that have human health consequences.
- Ability to identify personal and collective actions that conserve the marine environment.