SOA Arequipa Hub (Peru) will undertake a survey of marine macroinvertertebrates in the Arequipa region at three different underwater sites, and will catalogue and publish their findings on a website of their own making. This project will develop their skills as researchers and science writers.

As part of her PhD thesis, Juliette will conduct research and interviews into how and why Marine Protected Areas in Europe are successful--or not--through the lenses of policymakers and local stakeholders.

Brazil has great social inequality and disadvantaged social classes have no access to quality education. Paraty is a natural paradise popular with tourists, but has overfishing, massive trawling, shark predation and other predatory activities, and there is no environmental education in the schools, selective waste collection, or treated sewage for all. This, the 3rd grant SOA has issued in support of the TransforMAR project, will continue to marine science education and scuba diving to inspire and educate low-income youth in the community.

Deep Sea Defenders will organize a demonstration outside the Metals Company HQ (the parent company of Nauru Ocean Resources, Inc. and a primary instigator of the “2 year rule” of the ISA) in Vancouver on June 8 (World Oceans Day), and produce a documentary and a social media campaign about deep seabed mining utilizing the content and media attention it generates.

Sibolga is one of the smallest cities in Indonesia, on the coast of Sumatera. Almost all of the city is bordered by a beach. Seabolga was formed after the Divers Clean Action Indonesia Youth Marine Debris Conference in 2019, with the mission to protect Sibolga from it’s growing plastic waste problem. Seabolga goes to school 2020 is a program which aims to educate children in Sibolga’s schools about Marine Debris and its impact on the ocean and on human life.

This is a continuation of an SOA University of Florida Hub project that SOA funded in 2020. They are working with an ecotoxicology lab on campus to collect water samples in a local wetland area - Sweetwater Wetlands - and test them for various contaminants. The results will be communicated through community outreach events on and off campus.

With this grant, mymizu will build and grow a stronger community of refill partners via community building and outreach, enabling tens of thousands of community members (largely Gen Zers and millennials) to kick the plastic habit, further raise awareness of ocean plastics, and step up the fight against single-use plastics in Japan and beyond!

Through her Ph.D. research, Andrea studies the mechanisms of juvenile kelp natural persistence under different climate change scenarios, to better inform long-lasting kelp restoration efforts and ultimately benefit the communities and ecosystems that rely on kelp.

Refill Store is a well-known zero-waste shop with the goal of providing an alternative shopping experience as a solution to reduce the use of single-use plastics which make up the majority of marine debris. Refill Store has been open in their pilot location in Kepulauan Seribu since February 2020, and have worked in partnership with SOA Partners Divers Clean Action. Products sold in the Refill Store include basic household items, such as body soap, shampoo, detergent, dish soap, and floor cleaning liquid. Funding for this project will go towards marketing and an educational program and reusable kit give-away at the local elementary school in Kepulauan Seribu.