World Oceans Day

Created by NIE in Young Explorers 5 Oct 2024

On this World Oceans Day, the National Geographic Society is thrilled to announce the 2021 ArcGIS StoryMaps Ocean Challenge, an opportunity for youth co-hosted in partnership with Esri. Creating a StoryMap can empower young people to learn about the ocean, build their storytelling skills, and help protect our “beautiful big blue,” as National Geographic Young Explorer Gabby Tan calls it. Read on for a conversation about the ocean with Gabby, who is from Malaysia, and fellow Young Explorer Ben Somerville, who has lived his whole life by the ocean in the Cayman Islands.

National Geographic Society (NGS): World Oceans Day is June 8. What does the ocean mean to you?

Gabby Tan: The ocean has always been a huge source of inspiration and memories. World Oceans Day is one of my favorite days of the year. No matter how near or far we are from the ocean our lives are deeply interlinked with our beautiful big blue!

Ben Somerville: The ocean has influenced what my hobbies are, where I want to live, what I want to do in my life, who I surround myself with, and even my values. I became an environmentalist because I was witnessing the ocean around me transition from this untouched pristine environment into a place that still held such beauty but was obviously degrading.

NGS: What sparked your interest in the ocean, and how did your interest lead you to take action?

Ben: Growing up in the Cayman Islands, I was exposed to some of the most pristine marine environments in the world—as well as the human impacts on them. As an avid scuba diver, I watched as coral reefs bleached and fish species depleted, an experience that motivated me to create initiatives to preserve the Caymanian environment and culture.

Gabby: I grew up in Malaysia and was always inspired by the incredible beaches and bodies of water around me, but I didn’t know much about the issues facing our planet until a school geography trip to a coral reef nursery in the Langkawi islands. That field trip was a turning point for me. While I was amazed at a nursery of thriving, rehabilitated coral, I was shocked and disheartened by a trip to a beach littered with plastic and fishing nets. As I continued to learn more about the ways in which issues like the climate crisis, pollution, and coral bleaching were affecting coastal communities, I felt like I couldn’t just sit back and watch.