Ocean Literacy & Sustainability: There is a role for SURFING! People are more likely to protect something they understand. The role of Ocean Literacy is strong in our efforts to reach the action points in SDG14 “Life under Water”. Natalie Fox, #LoVeSeSDG PI Dorothy Jane Dankel, and Jamie Marshall published this past May in the International Journal of Environmental Research.
Excerpt from https://surfsimply.com/nature/ocean-literacy-surfing/:
“Their study explores the idea that, due to their interaction with the ocean and the insights gathered from the constant reading of tides, currents, waves, etc., surfers are inherently ocean-literate and, as such, surfing is a potential mechanism for developing ocean literacy.”
Excerpt continues from https://surfsimply.com/nature/ocean-literacy-surfing/:
“By conducting an online survey with 249 surfers, as well as a focus group with 6 of the participants, the researchers aimed to “ascertain whether Ocean Literacy Principles are statements surfers agree with and whether surfer variables, such as how often they surf, or their ability, might impact their answers on the Ocean Literacy (OL) Principles.” They found that whilst surfers were well versed in all seven principles, there were gaps in the qualitative results in relation to principles 1, 2, 4, and 7, thus making it impossible to assert that surfing is a reliable and consistent mechanism for ocean literacy. That said, the results corroborated the initial hypotheses that the act of surfing naturally provides ocean literacy, and that surfers have both knowledge of waves and surf breaks as well as knowledge of ocean ecosystems.”
Read more here:
https://surfsimply.com/nature/ocean-literacy-surfing/
