Educational Resources
Video by Gary de Buit
METEOROLOGY
Now that Karen has taken to the high seas, Siún from Team shecando2021 had a chat with meteorologist/climatologist Sé Walsh about the wind, weather and wave conditions that she might encounter on her 3000 mile trip from Gran Canaria to Barbados.
Have a listen to this fascinating and very informative talk.
Useful links
NOAA (the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) educational page is really good: scijinks website https://scijinks.gov/
Climate Change for kids: https://climatekids.
LIFE BELOW WATER
The Atlantic starts outside our front door, in Galway Bay.
This Fly though shows the seabed on our doorstep, note the limestone seabed formations that continue flow on the western side of the Arans and the Granite that continues on the seabed from Connemara.
This is the training ground in which Karen rows to gain strength and prepare for her epic challenge – SHECANDO IT!
In 2016 the INFOMAR team went across the North Atlantic on the Celtic Explorer from Newfoundland back to Galway back.
The mission was to better understand the North Atlantic, to map a transect of seabed and find to what was down there.
They found Iceberg scours, sediment channels and mountains as big as the Alps rising to almost 4,000m above the seabed!
This is exactly the terrain that Karen will row over.
Ref Story Map https://www.infomar.ie/maps/story-maps/aora-mapping-atlantic
On the above story map gives you a full presentation on multibeam and how we can map an entire Ocean.
If we know what’s down there, we can put plans in place to protect it.
In a similar area to above (North Atlantic) while we were exploring a shark nursery with the ROV (Remotely operated Vehicle) we were dismayed to find pollution in deep sea areas (2,500m). This will highlight ocean conservation, mans impact on the Ocean.
Ref Storymap for more information for classroom –
https://www.infomar.ie/rd-and-education/case-studies/deep-water-coral-reefs
The video above shows some great biological and video seabed footage taken in the North Atlantic, the seascape which Karen will cross over in her rowing boat ” Millie”.
INFOMAR is a DECC funded joint programme between the Geological Survey Ireland and the Marine Institute, surveying our unmapped marine territory and creating a range of integrated mapping products of the physical, chemical and biological features of the seabed.
Dr Susan Steele, Executive Director of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) sends a video message to Karen about the amazing life forms in the ocean around and beneath her, and their importance for: Sustainable Development Goal 14
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
GET GOING GET ROWING
Click the poster above to download or open a PDF of the image
PADDLE WITH PURPOSE
Aquaculture adventuring
for personal, collective, and planetary wellbeing.
Paddle with Purpose surfaced in the mind of Kathy Kirwan, an experienced paddleboarder, transatlantic sailor, eco artist & educator living in West Cork, when she became aware of a perfect storm of inspiring adventurers and climate activists committed to responding to the global ecological emergency.
Inspired by the #shecando2021 campaign which focuses awareness on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030: #UNSDG5 Gender Equality and #UNSDG14 Life below Water; her recent learning with the Haumea Ecoversity of what it means to live well with the wider Earth community to advance personal, collective, and planetary wellbeing, and participating in the 2021 Coastwatch Europe Survey, Kathy found herself giving voice to Paddle with Purpose.
As an ecosocial artivist (an artist-activist) she is literally collecting ocean plastics and other coastal pollutants on her paddleboard and sharing her at sea Paddle with Purpose adventures on social media to prompt all to care more for sensitive coastal environments. Some of the found materials are re-purposed for her personal and community creative work where natural, sustainable materials like plants and seaweed are combined with collected discarded materials, like fishing nets to create visual art.
Kathy shares, “my paddling with purpose allows me deeper intimacy, gratitude and more caring connections for our precious green and blue planet. And it’s both fun and enabling to ‘think global–act local’ in some of the most beautiful coastal areas of West Cork and beyond. Building a connection with Karen and her team on the #shecando2021 campaign, and with a growing community of paddlers with purpose, fosters agency so we can all play our collective part in respecting and restoring wellbeing for ourselves and the wider Earth community. We look forward to following Karen and Millie on their inspirational ocean voyage.
@kathykirwan_ecoartivist
