Like every child, I have been thrilled by trips to the beach, swimming and splashing in the water. Lucky for me, I lived only 20 minutes away from the beach (Kiel, German Baltic Sea). When I was little, my sister and I spent hours during our vacations, snorkelling in both the Baltic and Mediterranean, observing shoals of small fish, crustaceans, corals, small squids, and many other fascinating benthic creatures.
The most impressive memory, which always comes to my mind when I think about the wild and natural beauty that is the ocean, was my snorkelling trip to the Great Barrier Reef in 2015. Everything seemed so peaceful and calm, but incredibly fragile at the same time. For me a world without this amazing well-functioning ecosystem is unimaginable. Billions of lives depend on it, with millions of people inexplicably feeling drawn to it as a source of relaxation, leisure and inspiration.
Feeling a sense of urgency to do something to prevent an otherwise very likely portentous turn of events, I joined the Youth4Ocean Forum.
I believe that together, we can put our strong sense of mission-based drive to good use and tackle the challenges on the way to restoring ocean health.
