Last week was a big week for Ocean Frontiers – our DC premiere and a blog in the Huffington Post, which was one of the top tweeted posts! Please feel free to re-post…

Here are just a few of the comments shared by the audience after the DC premiere of Ocean Frontiers last Thursday night at the Carnegie Institution of Science. Thanks to the DC community for such a warm welcome! We were thrilled to bring these ocean pioneers to the Nation’s Capital.

“Congratulations on a great premiere last night!”
“Thanks for making this wonderful film”
“The discussion afterwards was fantastic!”
“The film captured my thoughts and feelings about ocean stewardship, and inspired me to continue to strive towards the kinds of successes you present. As a young professional, just out of grad school and eager to make a difference, I’m sure the message will stay with me, and I’ll pass it onto others as well.”

Deerin Babb-Brott, Director of the National Ocean Council, kicked-off the evening saying, “Ocean Frontiers illustrates the kind of science-based, collaborative, locally driven solutions that the National Ocean Council will support through the National Ocean Policy.”

We had a spectacular turnout. 350 guests representing a range of federal government agencies, congressional offices, private industry and nonprofit organizations joined the celebration of the ocean pioneers featured in Ocean Frontiers.  Washington Post Environmental Reporter Juliet Eilperin moderated an engaging post-film panel that featured senior-level representatives from the EPA, U.S. Coast Guard, sea ports and commercial fishing.

As I mentioned at the premiere, please share the film with your colleagues, host a screening, Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter,  blog about the film, and join the Ocean Frontiers community!

Here are some highlights of the panel:

Dr. John Oliver, Senior Ocean Policy Advisor, U.S. Coast Guard:  On the importance of marine spatial planning: “Marine planning holds tremendous potential to improve how we manage our ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters.  In a recent issue of Scientific American, the editors call marine planning one of 20 “world changing ideas” to build a cleaner, healthier, smarter, and more secure world and the “key” to informed offshore wind, renewable energy planning, and overall decision-making.”

Leesa Cobb, Director, Port Orford Ocean Resource Team – On the National Ocean Policy: “Our commercial fishing community on the southern Oregon coast has been working diligently for 10 years to achieve a more sustainable fishery that will support us in the long-term. We are in support the National Ocean Policy to help us move our efforts forward. Some help from the top-down would be appreciated here!”

Ben Scaggs, Director, EPA Gulf of Mexico Program – On the value of regional ocean management: “One of our roles is bringing funds to the region to help advance local, state and regional efforts. Mississippi can do everything right, and we still won’t be able to solve the problems in the Gulf. The regional partnership of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, which includes the five Gulf states and the Mississippi River states, is critical.”

Rick Sheckells, Sea port consultant, EcoLogix Group – On why ports need the National Ocean Policy: “Ports will benefit from a federal framework to ensure that across the country we are all moving in a similar direction.”

Thanks to all of you who promoted the event and to our DC co-hosts: Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, American Association of Port Authorities, Coastal States Organization, Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Blue Frontier Campaign, Port Orford Ocean Resource Team, Massachusetts Port Authority and Spitfire Communications.

Thanks for all you do – I hope you get in some time at the beach and on the water in the coming weeks!

Karen Meyer
Executive Director, Green Fire Productions

 

People always ask us, “What project are you working on now?” For the past three years, the response has been Ocean Frontiers. Over the 4^th of July, Ralf and I visited with friends we haven’t seen much in the past five months since we’ve been touring with Ocean Frontiers. They wanted to hear all about it – where the film has premiered, how audiences are responding to it, and do we feel we are meeting our goals?

Like the stories told in Ocean Frontiers, the story about the film and the outreach around it are equally positive. Together with 300+ partners across the country and around the world, we have hosted more than 100 premieres and screenings where audiences are left with hope and and inspired to move forward—from the kick-off with Oregon Governor Kitzhaber and First Lady Hayes in Oregon to the Boston premiere where 400 people filled the IMAX theater, to one of the most recent premieres in Boulder, Colorado where people gathered to learn how they can help protect the ocean from a mile high and the middle of the country!

On July 26 we are bringing Ocean Frontiers to the nation’s capital with our distinguished hosts including the American Association of Port Authorities, Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, Coastal States Organization, Massachusetts Port Authority, Blue Frontier Campaign and Port Orford Ocean Resource Team. Check it out and please join us if you will be in the area.

We are honored that members of Congress, state legislators, and local elected leaders such as mayors, and county and port commissioners regularly join us at Ocean Frontiers events and go on to share the film with their colleagues and constituents. Coastal planners on the East coast, the Pacific coast and now in Texas are using the film to inform and inspire their colleagues to reach for new heights with ocean planning, to bring in stakeholders and to use the best available science to inform their decisions.

Most heartening are the comments we hear from all of you—and it doesn’t seem to matter whether you are a port director, a Congressional staffer, a commercial fisherman or a college student who ended up attending an event because your roommate was going—people come away with a new sense of hope that we can work together and find solutions that benefit our coastal economies and the ocean.

Our goal at the onset of producing Ocean Frontiers was to share the ocean conservation success stories that are unfolding across the country so that we could all learn from these ocean pioneers and begin replicating their successful approaches in our own communities. Together with all of you we are moving in a positive direction. We are educating ourselves about what works and incorporating the lessons learned as we move forward with ecosystem-based ocean planning.

More than a film, Ocean Frontiers is a campaign designed to inspire people to get involved in ocean protection, from national policy to local beach clean-ups. You can get started on hosting a screening or share the film with your friends via Facebook or Twitter. Or just send them to the website, there’s lots of great clips from the film and extras to check out!

Thanks for all you do!

Karen Meyer
Executive Director, Green Fire Productions