Is Ireland “ocean literate”? Tireless campaigners for better awareness of our impact on our marine environment may not be so sure, but Galway-based scientist Dr Noirín Burke is ever optimistic.
Dr Burke is director of education at Galway Atlantaquaria in Salthill, and her infectious enthusiasm for life on the shoreline has inspired several generations of young visitors since she took up that post.
However, Dr Burke is also co-secretariat of the Irish Ocean Literacy Network which is preparing for a number of events next month as part of European Maritime Day.
European Maritime Day
The programme ranges from an EU blue schools workshop on May 17th to an ocean literacy communications event hosted by Sea Search Ireland and Galway Atlantaquaria, to the first ocean literacy festival.
Dr Noirin Burke and her daughter Roisín on Grattan Beach, Galway
On May 20th, the Irish Ocean Literacy Network will also host a workshop with speakers including Patrícia Conceição, Directorate-General for Maritime Policy, Portuguese Blue Schools (Escola Azul); Easkey Britton, world-renowned surfer, marine social scientist and writer; Nicola Bridge, President, European Marine Science Educators Association and Nathalie Van Isacker, EMODnet Secretariat, European Atlas of the Seas
Wavelengths interviewed Dr Burke (below)to hear details about the network, about her own work, about European Maritime Day, and about one of her favourite coastal locations – Galway’s Grattan beach.
