Saturday, June 13, 2009

Sanibel Sea School at the Blue Ocean Film Festival



What is Sanibel Sea School doing at a film festival? Well, the same thing we’re always doing – marine conservation. And boy, are there a lot of conservationists here with us! This is the heart of ocean photography and filmmaking. We have seen some awe inspiring and beautiful photography by National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry . We’ve also seen some terrific films that we’re trying to get to come to Sanibel Sea School – the Cove, Dugong and Din, Saving Luna, Riddle in a Bottle – lots of great stuff!

While we’ve been here, we’ve pitched some ideas to National Geographic and Discovery Channel! (Don’t buy the popcorn yet. We’re still learning how to do this!) And a real highlight – we’ve had the privilege of talking about Sanibel Sea School to Carl Safina, author of the award winning Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross as well as founder of the Blue Ocean Institute. In fact, we’ve told a lot of filmmakers, producers, scientists and conservationists about Sanibel Sea School. And we’ve heard a resounding chorus of encouragement!

You know what’s interesting about all this? Most of these folks started out the same way we did – loving the ocean by running around and exploring it! Which is really exciting for Sanibel Sea School. If we have any part in growing a little girl or boy into tomorrow’s Carl Safina, we’ll have done a fine thing for this ocean planet. And in the meantime, if we find partners in telling the world about Sanibel Sea School and our mission of experiential education, that’s also a fine thing.

So we have lots of homework to do following up with all kinds of requests. One crew might even come to Sanibel in July to film a segment for a children’s show. You never know what might happen on down the road. As for now, it’s been an education for us to find out more about these filmmakers and leading voices in ocean conservation. And we have enormous respect for the task before them of raising money to produce films that will in turn raise awareness. As a speaker said last night – “You are either an activist or an inactivist.” All right, then! Let’s change the world! How about it?