Apr
15
The oceans offer a source of hope
Let’s start this conversation about wellness and the marine environment with some examples of how the marine environment can impact our wellness. Firstly let’s look again at what wellness is.
As I’ve previously discussed, wellness can mean different things to different people in different contexts. But regardless of the context, wellness is a conscious decision to take control and move toward a more balanced, healthy and holistic existence. It is a desire and choice to improve quality of life, within multiple dimensions, in order to create the best chance of resilience to stress and dis-ease.
Volunteering in Marine Conservation – Courtesy of Project Manta
When posed with the idea of wellness and the marine environment, most think of environmental wellness for the marine environment, and they wouldn’t be wrong. Our marine environments are indeed in need of a more wellness oriented approach to ensure their continued survival, and consequently ours. But what I have in mind is a conversation about how our interaction with marine environments affects our wellness, impacts our future behaviors and changes our attitudes!
The Oceans
I was inspired by the words of Philippe Cousteau in a recent article in which he asks us to consider the oceans as a source of hope, because of what they have to offer all of humanity. He takes time to remind us of how important our connection to the ocean is…how the ocean contributes to our wellness.
Did you know that the oceans:
- produce half of the world’s oxygen
- are a primary source of protein for more than 2.6 billion people
- protect coastal regions through bio diverse ecosystems like coral reefs, mangroves and wetlands
- regulate climate
- support commercial and community businesses
- are home to some of the most fascinating plants and animals you can imagine, with many more yet to be discovered
- give us pleasure, inspiration and joy
Both media and research has tended to emphasize the catastrophic effects of a ‘business as usual’ attitude, because of the unsustainable nature of how we have treated our oceans and their inhabitants. Although this is important and must be acted on, it is also important to reflect on how valuable the oceans are and how time and time again they can heal and support our wellness.
These are a few examples of how this is being done.
Deptherapy Foundation
If you scuba dive you will be aware of the therapeutic and healing effects of being underwater; whether it be the silence with only your breath to be with, or the awesome visual display the oceans can provide, or the freeness of being neutrally buoyant in this realm. Then imagine how amazing all this must be to a person who is physically disabled. This is what the Deptherapy Foundation does. They have developed and lead a PADI certified scuba-diving program for disabled war veterans.
from day one, (the) programme of diving and underwater exercise made an almost miraculous impact on the rehab work being undertaken by men who had suffered everything from traumatic brain injuries to paralysis
One participant is quoted as saying “when I started diving I did a complete 360 in my attitude with my injury, because I was pretty depressed. The more I dive the happier I get”.
Reports from other sources suggest that the program has been beneficial to the Florida community where the diving programs are conducted, from fund-raising, donations of time, equipment and volunteers to dive shops building infrastructure to help the disabled divers in and out of the water.
Not only has diving in the oceans given these participants the ability to improve their quality of life, physically, emotionally, perhaps spiritually, the program may be said to have created social wellness within the local diving community.
The Blue Gym
“There are those who consider it blindingly obvious that time spent by the sea is beneficial to health and well-being, but it remains a sad fact that, many people are unaware of the value of the sea shore” Professor Mike Depledge
In the UK it is estimated that only 21% of adults and as low as 9% of children spend time outdoors or in nature. The Blue Gym project has been set up in response to these and other horrific statistics in relation to human health and wellbeing.
The Blue Gym explores, through various research projects, how natural water environments can be utilized to promote human health and wellbeing. The projects recognize that participation in water environments will; decrease stress levels, increase physical activity; build stronger communities; and that being in these environments aids those who are ill to heal, and those who are not ill to maintain wellness to prevent illness.
With an understanding that, if you have a healthy environment then you will also have healthy people who are able to heal or maintain wellbeing in that environment, the project emphasizes that health and well-being is dependent on healthy water / blue environments.
Long Valley eco guides – Courtesy of The Conservancy Association
Long Valley Wetlands
I was fortunate to attend a talk by Dr Billy Hau on nature and conservation in Hong Kong’s Long Valley located in the New Territories. Dr Hau led us on a fascinating journey to the Long Valley wetland, a significant biodiversity hotspot of 150 ha, and how this wetland was saved from destruction that would have seen it replaced by a new railway project. Instead the railway line was built under the wetlands. Although Dr Hau emphasis’ that the wetland is not yet ‘saved’ the protection that it has been afforded and what is proposed is promising.
But here I want to share how the local community has benefited from this environmental success in one particular area and that is the development of new skills and consequently enthusiasm for the land as tour guides.
Dr Hau reflected how some of the villagers have been asked to act as local eco guides as part of a sustainable development program for Long Valley. For the first time in HK, local residents and farmers were trained as eco-guides. The eco-tours guide “guests to appreciate the ecological and cultural characters in the Long Valley region”. Since the program started the guides have been taken to Taiwan and Malaysia to learn how eco-tours are conducted in those countries. In addition these guides educate and conduct workshops for visitors in rice planting and harvesting, farming education and bird watching.
Dr Hau talks about how the guides and other village residents now see meaning and purpose in the protection afforded to Long Valley and how they enjoy sharing knowledge and heritage with visitors. One hopes that conservation program has provided not only protection for the wetlands and the flora and fauna, but also a meaningful life and wellbeing for the local residents that is more valuable to them than the money they may have earned from selling their land to a developer.
In all these stories we see how interaction with the marine environment can give people health, wellbeing and purpose.
If you have a story about how the marine environment has benefited your wellness please share it with us, we would love to hear from you.
Be well and thanks for tuning in
Angie
Sources:
Ocean Conservancy
Deptherapy Foundation
The Blue Gym – researching blue space, health and wellbeing
The Conservancy Association (Hong Kong)
