For those of you who aren’t familiar with her, I suggest starting with Mission Blue on Netflix which explains her life journey. Dr. Sylvia Earle has paved the way for so many female scientists and to this day speaks about protecting the ocean in a meaningful and hopeful way. Through Mission Blue, they are working at protecting the ocean through Hope Spots, significant areas of marine life and significance.
Dr. Earle was in Vancouver as part of IMPAC5 , the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress. Although I wasn’t part of the conference, I found out last minute that there was an evening event, In Conversation with Dr. Sylvia Earle, that was open to the public as a ticketed event. Seriously, it was the BEST 5$ I have ever spent!
The event was hosted by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the conversation was moderated by Chris Micheal, Oceans Editor for the Guardian. There were also some audience questions at the end. Throughout the event, Dr. Earle was so real and funny, she spoke eloquently and passionately. The friend that I brought, who had never heard of Dr. Earle before, was so impressed and told me after she felt like she was part of something special.
Although everything she said was meaningful and had an impact, I want to share the three things that she said that were the most memorable for me. (Disclaimer: These aren’t direct quotes, and may have a bit of my own interpretations weaved into them, as bias often impacts memory a few days after an event.) 1- When asked about explaining the ocean to those who have never seen it, she compared it to being an astronaut. When astronauts are in space, they live through something that so little people get to experience. Coming back from that, it is hard to describe what it’s like being the only ones to see the world from that perspective. |
2 - When asked about how she could still be hopeful after all that she has seen she spoke about how, in her lifetime, we have gone from almost killing off all the whales to protecting them. Our problem as a species is that we are really good at killing. Dr. Earle says that we need to shift to caring. If we stop killing and start caring, we will think more about our actions. We will think about what we are eating and about where it came from, we will stop measuring fish by the tons and think about how much we are taking from the ocean. Right now, we are taking younger and younger fish and not leaving enough to reproduce. If we stop killing and start caring, we can try to save the tuna, cod and krill populations that are being decimated. We used to think that we could take whatever we wanted out of the ocean and it would keep providing. We now know that this isn’t the case and we need to change our relationship with the ocean.
3 - If someone ever tells you that you are too young, too old, too tall, too short, that you speak the wrong language, to do something, ask them why. Why does that have an impact on what you want to do? Sometimes, there will be a reason. But if not, if they don’t have a good reason, keep going.
I could have listened to her talk forever. She is a natural storyteller and communicates science in a way that makes you understand the consequences of actions. That she has seen all that she has and maintains hope is truly inspiring.
After the talk, I was able to get in a few words with Dr. Sylvia. Honestly, I wanted to meet her so bad I jumped out of my seat and headed straight to where she was coming off the stage. As did everyone else! I wanted to be brief as so many others were waiting - but I was so excited and nervous that I can’t even remember all that I said. I told her I was a middle school science teacher, and that I had started scuba diving because of her. She smiled and reached out and touched my heart and said you can make others do the same. That moment of her recognizing the impact of educators and the look of genuine happiness in her eyes. I can’t remember anything else I said. But I left there with my hands shaking and just couldn’t stop blabbering about how amazing she is.
Dr. Sylvia Earle has paved the way for so many female scientists and is such an inspiration. I am so grateful to have been able to spend some time in her presence.