How the Ocean Connects Us and Personal Action Plans

The day began with a workshop by Salzwasser Verein, a nonprofit organization dedicated to water conservation. It was titled “Marine Ecosystems.” Surprisingly, this was one of the conservation topics we hadn’t covered yet, and I was excited to see what I’d learn. The workshop transitioned into another session called “Developing My Personal Action Plan,” which included practicing how to speak publicly through an elevator pitch.

First, we started with an association game: What do you associate with the word “ocean”? Some people thought of vacations, especially those from desert areas, and most of us found it hard to picture anything concrete because we don’t live near any seas or oceans. As a New Mexican, the only beach we have is Tingley, and the name is misleading. Some of us mentioned lakes (Lake Tahoe, Elephant Butte), others had “seas,” but not in the sunny beach-day way. The German participants talked about the Elbe River as their main water source.

For something that covers 70% of the Earth, it’s clear the ocean isn't at the forefront of our minds. We were then asked: What makes oceans indispensable? In small groups, we discussed and found some common answers. We recognized that oceans are major carbon stores, support incredible biodiversity, and provide habitat for many animals.

We then learned about various ecosystems within the ocean, including coral reefs, seagrass meadows, kelp forests, mangroves, and salt marshes. Each plays a crucial role in how the ocean stores carbon dioxide and regulates the climate. They also produce 50% of the Earth’s oxygen, which is kind of crazy.

The workshop highlighted that even communities like ours, which aren’t located near the ocean, are still connected to it. Water and trash from places like the Elbe River eventually end up in the ocean. The same goes for dry, arid places. Whether it’s through the fish we eat or the climate systems we rely on, we’re all affected by the ocean.

One thing I found particularly interesting was the role of mangroves. When trees or plants are cut down, the carbon dioxide they store is usually released, but mangroves (and some others) can still store carbon in the sediment even after being cut down. That makes them incredibly important for ocean ecosystems. We also explored how seagrass (different from seaweed) helps protect coastlines by slowing waves, preventing erosion, and reducing coastal flooding.

Obviously, overfishing, overconsumption, and plastic waste point to humans as the problem. But instead of feeling discouraged, we were reminded that this also means we hold the power to change things.

After the presentation, we did a few discussions and group exercises. Then we finished with a city council meeting simulation, where the topic was ocean conservation and sustainability. The goal was to explore how this issue affects everyone. The roles included: environmental activists, the city’s mayor, local business owners, teachers, parents, city sanitation workers, and a few students who felt disconnected from the topic.

We were given time to prepare a “general statement and introduction.” Then we dove into how to make our imaginary city more sustainable. The sanitation workers took the lead, asking for more trash bins, better resources, and for businesses to be held accountable for their waste. The local business owners quickly made it clear they were profit-driven and felt sustainability was too expensive to implement. The teacher and parent worked together, focusing on the disengaged students. The environmental activists (my friend and I) supported the sanitation workers and collaborated with the teachers to encourage the students to engage in sustainability through mandatory community service hours and workshops.

In the end, after much arguing (read as discussing), we reached an agreement: implement more sustainable practices in local businesses, provide better resources for sanitation workers, require community service hours for teens, and give teachers more tools for sustainable education.

This was much more efficient than a real city council meeting, but I enjoyed the exercise nonetheless. I've noticed that our group thrives in discussion-based environments, and most young people want to speak out about important issues, but they don't feel like they have a platform or that it matters. I think it would be beneficial to have more discussions in academic atmospheres. Even if these discussions never conclude, they are a good way of opening your worldview.

After five hours (yes, five hours) of workshops, we switched gears to create our Personal Action Plans.

I knew this exchange program would be centered around social justice and sustainability, but I wondered how it was going to impact me when I arrived home. My question was answered with the PAP (personal action plan).

The PAP is a project designed to bring something meaningful back home and to create some impact in our communities using the lessons we've learned here. This project should aim to create sustainable change in our school, community, or neighborhood—whether it’s focused on climate justice, social justice, or intercultural learning. It was hard at first to come up with ideas, but after some time and collaboration, I had an idea.

We brainstormed ideas as a group, then individually. After that, we practiced public speaking through quick elevator pitches. Each of us was given a random object and had to “sell” it in under a minute. I got an alarm clock. We were given around 15 minutes to come up with something, and let me just say, everyone panicked. It’s amazing how something as simple as public speaking can make someone so nervous to the point of sweating and showing pure fear in their eyes. Trust me, I was not immune, and immediately panicked, not knowing what to do with my object.

Coming up with the pitch ended up being easy, but, as always, public speaking was the hard part. Even the bubbliest, most outgoing people can get nervous in front of a crowd, scared they’ll mess up.

Still, we all made it through our pitches without a hiccup. They were creative, thoughtful, and funny.

That wrapped up the day, but we were assigned homework: to create a Personal Action Plan and present it to the program counselors, elevator pitch-style.

Join me tomorrow to discover my personal action plan-along with those of others-and check out the handmade posters and presentations we've created to bring our ideas to life.