"Do you think there will still be a Great Barrier Reef when I am an adult?

Last night I went to see only the second showing of a new film entitled "Blue" at the Sydney Film Festival. This feature film by Northern Pictures examines the impact that industrial scale fishing, habitat destruction, species loss and pollution are having on our oceans.

The story is told through the experiences of Ocean Guardians (#oceanguardian) who are people that are passionate about the oceans. People like Madison Stewart who is passionate about shark conservation, Tim Silverwood, co-founder of Take 3, the beach cleanup initiative and Dr. Jennifer Lavers, a marine eco-toxicologist and seabird expert.

Written and directed by Karina Holden, Blue is a beautifully confronting film which I hope will act as a catalyst for changing attitudes to our oceans. 

After the film there was a panel discussion which included the three ocean guardian's mentioned above along with Karina Holden. At the end of the panel discussion there was the opportunity for the audience to put questions to the panel.  A child towards the front of the audience stood up and asked "Do you think there will still be a Great Barrier Reef when I'm adult? Because I haven't seen the reef or a turtle yet".  Sometimes it takes the innocence of a child to ask the pertinent question!

What can you do to help? Here are a few suggestions:

• visit the website here
• become an ocean guardian here
• go and see the film when you have the opportunity
• share this with others and encourage them to do the three things above!