How do you teach school kids about climate change? Bring them to the ocean floor
Virtually, that is.
The world's oceans are changing fast, and in disturbing ways. And the youth of the future may never know what a healthy ocean looks like.
That's why marine ecologist, biologist and explorer Maeva Gauthier, 36, founded the Fish Eye Project in Victoria, B.C. Her hope: to inspire the next generation of ocean stewards.
Every second breath we take comes from the ocean. So this is something very crucial for us.- Maeva Gauthier
Using interactive technology, Gauthier streams ocean dives to classrooms around the world, answering students' questions in real time.
"Not everybody has a chance to live close to the ocean, and if even if they do, you don't necessarily see what's underneath," says Gauthier. "So it's hard to care about something that you've never seen, and that you don't feel connected with."
Through the Fish Eye Project, Gauthier is making that connection.
Gauthier is one of a new generation of passionate change-makers profiled in CBC's new series We Are Canada. Watch the series Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC and online.