Ayla fell in love with ocean at five-years-old, when she gazed into a tidepool for the first time and saw a whole new world come to life. In February 2007 (age 10) she was selected to be a Student Explorer by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Each year, this prestigious aquarium chooses 2 or 3 young people to act as ambassadors for the ocean, promoting ocean awareness and conservation among kids. Ayla was honored to work at events throughout the year, which she documented in her explorer journals.
While working at the Aquarium, Ayla met a new friend and fellow ocean conservationist, Simon (now 13) who lives in Northern California. The two of them felt that kids could truly make a difference in the future of our oceans if given the proper tools. Inspired by Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, Ayla and Simon spent the summer of 2007 working to develop the Save Our Seas presentation that kids all over the country could give to their schools, scout troops, church groups, etc. The presentation teaches kids about the ocean, the trouble it is in, and what kids can do to help. They feel strongly that the message is better heard when kids hear it from other kids. You can see the content of the presentation by playing the video to the right.
In the fall of 2007, they presented their idea to Julie Packard, Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the concept was met with enthusiastic support. Ayla and Simon completed the presentation with support from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and delivered it to more than 300 people at the Aquarium’s World Ocean Day event in June 2008. Since that time, they have presented it in seven different states (CA, CO, MD, NC, UT, MA, RI) and the Bahamas, to over 1,500 people ranging in ages from second grade to adult, with audiences as intimate as 5-people to school assemblies as large as 300+.
Save Our Seas is now available for you to download and present to your own group. The presentation was originally written for 3rd through 8th grade audiences, but it has also been given to older groups. To the right are all the files available for download (you should start by reading the overview document, and then review the additional files).
While traveling, Ayla is thrilled to have the chance to present Save Our Seas at schools along our route. If we are going to be in your area, and you would like Ayla to present at your school, drop us an email and we'll see what we can do.
