Rosie Chambers, coordinator, Marine CoLABoration

1. Creating a new sea story- a first aid kit for ocean communications
Rosie Chambers
Marine CoLAB Coordinator
Rosie.chambers@mcsuk.org, @Marine_CoLAB
The ocean makes life on earth possible, treasure it

2. - Ocean health is critical to the
functioning of our planet and life
itself.
- Despite threats and severity of
consequences, marine
conservation remains low on
national and international
agendas with limited public
understanding of systems, issues
and solutions.
- Change requires cultivating public
understanding, generating
support for solutions and, shifting
the narrative on how we value the
ocean.
What’s the problem?

3. Our vision:
- a healthy and less threatened ocean.
- an ocean friendly society that values the
contribution our ocean makes to our continued
wellbeing and acts to safeguard its value in all its
rich diversity.
Our approach:
- experimentation
- a values-based approach
- systems change
- collaboration
- effective communication and framing
What does the Marine CoLAB do?

4. - We can accelerate progress towards an ocean-
friendly society by collaborating and placing value
at the heart of solutions
- Uncovering and communicating the value of the
ocean in all its diversity to connect with people’s
deeply held, personal and shared values.
What do we mean by a ‘values based approach?’

5. What do we mean by a ‘values based approach?’

6. ‘Because everything we do touches the ocean’

7. https://bit.ly/3c3l3Mu

8. Reframing the ocean
● Four about the role of the ocean within the planet
○ Body
○ Internet
○ Building
○ Climate’s Heart
● Three about MPAs
○ Physiotherapy
○ Support Beams
○ Blue Belt
Exploratory metaphors tested

9. Reframing the ocean
● Four about the role of the ocean within the planet
○ Body
○ Internet
○ Building
○ Climate’s Heart
● Three about MPAs
○ Physiotherapy
○ Support Beams
○ Blue Belt
Exploratory metaphors tested

10. A first aid kit for ocean communication
1. Establish that the ocean has health
2. Show that human health is at stake
3. Communicate past and ongoing harms
4. Turn to the future and try stewardship frames
5. Be creative and flex the frame
6. Repeat!

11. Establish that the ocean has health
The ‘changing health’ story
People tend to think:
The ocean is a vast, other world. It’s
separate and self sustaining.
Threats to the ocean- plastics
So we need to:
Broaden and deepen understanding
Connect issues
Show the need for systemic solutions
Planet as a body
“The planet is made up of a set of
interconnected and interdependent parts, just
like the human body. In the body, an illness
or injury in one part can lead to problems in
others.
In the same way, a problem in one of the
earth’s systems,like the climate or an
ecosystem, can cause problems in the
others. And because the ocean, atmosphere
and land are connected, like the parts of the
body, what happens in each part affects the
other.”

12. The ‘changing health’ story
There are many ways to say this!

13. Show that human health is at stake
The ‘changing health’ story
“The ocean is vital for human health. It
sustains human life by generating oxygen.
It provides most of the oxygen we breathe
on land, It also a major source of food and
medicines.
As a society, we need to take steps to
address threats to the ocean, so that the
ocean can continue to support our health”.

14. Do both of those things
together
The ‘changing health’ story

15. Communicate past and ongoing harms
The ‘changing health’ story
People tend to think:
“The sea is unchanging and self
governing. Our actions can’t alter it
and we can’t affect it.”
Before:
“We are facing an ocean crisis. The
unprecedented changes we are seeing
in ocean activity should be a stark
wake-up call to all of us.”
After:
“The ocean used to be healthy but its
health has deteriorated over time
because of human activity. With the right
policies and interventions, we can try to
reverse this trend.”

16. A first aid kit for ocean communication
Summary of Turning the Tide recommendations
1. Establish that the ocean has health
2. Show that human health is at stake
3. Communicate past and ongoing harms
4. Turn to the future and try stewardship frames
5. Be creative and flex the frame
6. Repeat!
(Watch the handy video tutorials here - Film Tutorials:
strategies & tools for ocean communications)

17. What are we learning about effective communication
across the Marine CoLAB?
1. There is strength in alignment
2. The ‘changing health’ story is a powerful
metaphor
3. Flexibility is our friend
4. Ocean protection is serious, but not all of your
communication content has to be...
5. We might be NGO workers, scientists,
policymakers, communicators… but we connect
as human beings

18. Thank you!

19. 5 March 2020
Conference: Changing hearts and
minds: social science insights for
communicators

20. Visit the CharityComms website to view
slides from past events, see what events
we have coming up and to check out
what else we do:
www.charitycomms.org.uk