Youth ocean activism is surging in the Pacific Northwest

Whether it’s the wonder of watching migrating whales or seeing newly hatched seabirds take their first-flight, life in the Pacific Northwest’s ocean inspires and motivates us to protect our planet. We love our oceans and want to see decision makers take steps to protect them.

With coastal waters heating up rapidly and plastic waste increasing exponentially, now is the time to take action to conserve sensitive habitats like rocky reefs and kelp forests, protect marine mammals and fight plastic pollution. On Saturday November 16th, nearly 100 students from Washington and Oregon came to a youth ocean summit at the University of Oregon to do just that.

The program, hosted by Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center alongside our partners at OSPIRG Students, brought together leaders in environmental advocacy, marine research and policy to share their expertise with young people on pressing ocean issues and tools to protect its wildlife and ecosystems. It included panels, overviews and workshops on reintroducing the charismatic sea otter, the importance of permanently protecting ocean ecosystems like kelp forests, reducing plastics which pollute our oceans, and how to organize beach cleanups.

Collectively, students took action and completed nearly 200 petitions calling on state and federal officials to do more for Southern resident orcas, sea otters and to tackle pollution and was an important step in building an ocean conservation movement in the region.

Below are a few photos of the inaugural event.