Community Spotlight: Seren George-Davidson, Australia
In this week’s Community Spotlight, Project AWARE catches up with Seren George-Davidson, an incredible 8-year-old ocean activist in Australia.
Tell us about your passion for ocean conservation.
I’m an ocean lover. I love everything about the ocean. I love going to the beach and running in and out of the waves. Once in Year 2, I did my school news on an Eagle Ray. I told my class that these creatures are really special. They can jump really high but the sad news is they are also endangered because some people want to kill them for their gill rakers. They think they are medicine but they don’t actually do anything.
Why and when did you get involved with Project AWARE?
I first got involved with Project AWARE when I was just very little – just one year old. My mum had organized a big beach and underwater cleanup and I went along. I don’t remember it but we have some photos! I’ve joined beach and underwater cleanups every year since. Every time we go to the beach or for a swim we pick up any rubbish we find. I love being involved with Project AWARE – our ocean needs more people to defend it.
What are some issues that are affecting your local dive site or favorite underwater areas?
One big issue is plastic bags, straws and plastic lids. We see a lot of those at our beach, lakes and sports fields. They are useless because we can’t reuse them. I’d like to see our local community stop using plastic bags and stop giving out straws for your drinks. And I’d like to see more people refuse plastic bags and straws too.
What Project AWARE programs have you participated in? Tell us about your work.
I am the class representative for our School Parliament. In Term One we chose which charities we want to support for 2017. One of the teachers asked us if anyone has any charities to nominate so I put my hand up. I talked about Project AWARE. I told our school that Project AWARE is a charity that helps protect sharks and rays from dying and helps clean up our ocean from all the trash we leave behind. All the kids thought this was a great charity and everyone voted yes!
We’re going to have a school disco to raise money with different ocean and environmental themes: K-2 Under the Sea; Stage 2 Animals and Stage 3 Rubbish or Blue.
What has been the highlight of your Project AWARE experience?
Encouraging all the kids in my school from Year 1 to Year 6 to believe in what Project AWARE does. We are the future leaders and we think that having a nicer ocean would be awesome.
What is the most important thing you tell others about Project AWARE?
I have three things to tell people:
- Every time you go to the beach and you see rubbish, pick it up and put it in the bin. You might actually save a sea creature from dying.
- Don’t be scared of sharks. The only really scary ones are Great Whites and even they are endangered and need our help. We need to protect sharks – they are probably more scared of us than we are of them.
- If we all give money to Project AWARE we would have a happier, healthier and cleaner ocean.