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Project Details

Project dates
21/04/2023

Marcus Gartland

Project Lead

An educational musical album for children to engage in ocean literacy and education.

Project Description

I have always highly valued education, and I have always loved making music. At the beginning of my co-hort with Ocean Bridge, I met with my absolutely incredible (to say the very least!) coach, Christine, to talk about potential projects I could work on.

I had the idea after seeing my partner, Molly Foster, and one of my very best friends/mentor, Ally Chant, thrive in the Ocean Bridge summer co-hort in 2022. Both of their work on Every Little Bit, an environmental educational book for youth, has lead them to incredible opportunities. Their success and their passions inspired me to pursue my own interests and passions in life, especially with ocean conservation.

In saying this, I always wanted to do something that could have a positive impact on youths. My parents both worked as educators in some capacity, so I grew up with a strong passion for empowering learners, and highly valued learning. Combining youth education with my own skillset, music production, it became clear to me that I could educate youths through music!

In total, I have written 9 songs that address topics such as plastic pollution, overfishing, climate change, and the importance of coming together to support not just humans, but every organism on the planet.

The album is set to be released mid-late September on various streaming platforms 🙂

What was your biggest challenge?

Believe it or not, the biggest challenge during my project has been actually naming the songs and the album!

But apart from that, I think a big challenge that I faced was trying to find my voice (figuratively & literally!) in spaces that I haven’t always been a part of. Challenging myself to understand my role in intersectional environmental advocacy, whether it’s in the field or at home was a major factor in how I created the music.

I know with a project like mine, the actual creation of the music might have been the most challenging part, but I genuinely love creating music. So that part, while at times tedious, was always very fun and rewarding!

What was your most valuable takeaway?

My most valuable takeaway from this project was realizing that things take time, so it’s important to take that time and to take care of ourselves.

Art, or any kind of outlet of expression, is an incredibly important tool that we can use to teach, relax, learn, or feel with. When thinking about my time with my Ocean Bridge co-hort, I think back to all of the creative individuals I was fortunate enough to connect with, and learn from. In saying this, this was another important takeaway I learned from my project- that is, the importance of connection with those we care about!

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