Project Details
Ripples is a youth-led arts zine showcasing visual and written works that celebrate our shared love of and connection to water. We believe that young people have an invaluable role to play in supporting healthy and resilient watersheds, which our shared and deeply entwined futures depend on.
Project Description
We are calling for young artists, writers, and photographers (aged 6-25), who live on the unceded Indigenous lands and waters today known as British Columbia to join us in creating a collection of artistic works that celebrate human connection to water—and the entirety of our watersheds—in a time of environmental degradation and a rapidly changing climate.
Part love letter and part call to action, through Ripples, we endeavour to reflect the beauty and ecological significance of the watersheds that nourish and cradle the places we call home and are the lifeblood of our province and planet. In doing so, we celebrate the inherent interconnectedness of humans and water. We are an inseparable part of our watersheds. This year’s issue of Ripples seeks to celebrate the ways in which we are connected to our watersheds and practice love and care for our watersheds in our day-to-day lives. This love of water is a critical force in inspiring the urgent actions needed to improve watershed health in our province and beyond—especially in an era of rapid climate change and relentless environmental degradation. Urgent actions that will propel us towards peace and justice for all beings.
The organizations behind Ripples 2024 believe that young people—particularly youth artists, photographers, and writers—are creating ripples in the world of water advocacy and governance through education, stewardship, art, and the celebration of Earth’s water systems, of which every creature on Earth, including ourselves, is an integral part.
This project has been created in commemoration of the lives of all the victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, including two Ocean Bridge ambassadors, Danielle Moore and Micah Messent. We aspire to carry on their legacy and commitment to making the world a better place by creating long-lasting impacts with a firm commitment to driving positive change for the environment and our ocean. We will never forget the light that Danielle and Micah brought to the world and will continue to keep them in our hearts. To learn more about these two amazing people, please visit: Honouring Danielle and Micah – Ocean Wise. This work is partially funded by the Commemoration Fund for Victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Tragedy.
What was your biggest challenge?
Initially finding adequate funding was the most challenging part of putting together this zine! We wanted to find an organization that stood for what this project does. One of the University of Victoria Sustainability board members brought up ocean wise as that they do grants, this was a perfect result. Apart from this however we did find it challenging working with catering staff on campus. They quoted us a much smaller cost to catering our event than what was the reality. We altered our order and made the difference of cold vs hot drinks which was about $100 less. The biggest issue was that for on campus events we are not able to bring personal baked items which made catering all the more important!
What was your most valuable takeaway?
Each of the art works that calls Ripples pages home is a powerful proclamation of love and call to action. All together, that power is enormously palpable and that call is deafeningly loud. Each person that has worked on this zine has been incredibly touched to have seen and helped to curate these pages. We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the young people who were moved to share a bit of themselves in Ripples 2024; all the parents, guardians, aunts, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents who supported the young people in their lives with their submissions; all the teachers, professors, and educators who shared this project with their students; all the communications and outreach folks who shared this call with their networks; and anyone else who shared or contributed to this zine in any way.
