Hello, my name is Francesca. I am a 19-year-old student currently having an amazing time studying marine biology at the University of Southampton. As I am studying, I learn more each day that without coexisting with our oceans, we cannot survive. I don’t want to be a part of a future where the ocean has declined beyond repair and future generations learn about the current marine species as part of the fossil record. I have a scuba diving qualification, and my dream is to be able to use this skill and my scientific knowledge to protect our oceans, preserving life for future generations. Last year I had the best experience of my life in Greece, volunteering to help record and preserve Loggerhead sea turtle nests, in which I learned many survey and conservation techniques and met many amazing likeminded friends along the way. I also share my experiences through an Instagram account (@shore_le.marinebiology), posting about navigating the world through a marine biology lens and connecting with others on social media to spread climate change awareness. Some of the pictures I included within my video I took during my time volunteering abroad and from my time at university.I could talk for days about why we need to co-exist with our ocean: we need to preserve the beauty of species and habitats; reduce ocean warming so that it continues to take up CO2, mediating climate change; preserve marine populations to keep our economy from collapsing; and so on. However, in my video, I decided to focus on the social aspect the ocean plays within human culture and the history of that through time. This is because I know that as climate change worsens and the sea level continues to rise, the first communities to be affected, and they are already being effected, are the coastal ones that have their whole way of life fitted around the ocean. They are losing jobs as fish species are declining and increasing sea level rise is causing more floods and storms that are destroying their homes and causing fatalities. I also talk about what the ocean has already provided us, to convey that we have a huge dependency on the oceans, not just because it mediates the impacts of climate change with its heat distribution and CO2 uptake but also for reasons not so obvious, like cultural and economic factors such as providing medicine, food, and traditions. What we give back to the planet, it will in turn give back to us, and I want to give it all I’ve got, which is why I applied to this programme. I believe this once-in-a-lifetime program would equip me with invaluable knowledge and experience to fulfill my dreams and open my mind to the beauty of the habitats in the Seychelles.
