“We Sea Change” is the idea! I will create a group on Facebook dedicated to providing information, education, resources, and opportunities to become involved with issues pertaining to the oceans and beaches in New Jersey. Beach erosion is occurring at a faster rate here than anywhere else in the country! The erosion is a result of the geological make-up of the ocean shelves, the alkalinity of water, carbon emissions, climate change, hurricanes, and so much more. It is a cacophony of ecosystems in peril.
(Picture courtesy of my husband. The “Jersey Shore.” February 2023.)
These issues are vast, yet there are basic things that each person can do in order to educate themselves about the issues and contribute in a wide variety of ways. My Initial goal is to spread the word about the big bullet point issues and to allow people to assess themselves in terms of their knowledge and their own personal practices. They will then be presented with ideas and resources as to what they can do and determine (through polling) what they would be willing to implement within their own households or lifestyle. Remember – where there are possibilities there is hope! It is important to empower people with the opportunity to help create change in a way that is both attainable and meaningful to them!
My plan is to create a Facebook group called “We Sea Change”. I will invite a good number of my existing personal followers and keep the group open to the general public as well. (Feel free to join along or let me know your Facebook name and I will invite you!) Once I have a reasonable number of followers (I am hoping for at least 50-100) I will encourage those who join to invite their friends. I will start with short posts that pose questions in a polling format. I am thinking about 5 questions. The questions will be about basic facts concerning the Jersey shore and its beach erosion and pollution. Below is an example of what the questions (format)would look like.
Once I get those results, I will provide them with the correct answers. That is the point at which I will give them succinct small doses of bullet point style facts in an easy-to-read (short) post. The idea is to give them information in small doses that is easily understood and can be absorbed in the amount of time it takes to read between tv commercials! I will then do a second poll where they will be presented with a short list of about 3-5 things that they can do within their own lives (action) that would affect change regarding the issues that were most recently discussed. They would select via poll which of the suggestions they would most likely consider implementing in their own life. The suggestions and poll (format) would look like this:
If they are already actively engaging in the provided suggestions, they will have an option to select that as well. This poll provides three purposes. The first is to provide the group members with suggestions of things that they can do to help/take action. The second is so that I can see what options people respond to more favorably in order to help me assess future topics and solutions that would be more feasible or probable for people to participate in. The last is to gage how many people are already actively participating or engaging in some kind of action. I already created the FB page (the shell) and would love feed back!
My thought is that if this idea takes off – I may decide to continue this beyond our ecofeminism class (once school is over) by cross-listing the group with an Instagram and Twitter page, as well as a website. I would pick different monthly/weekly topics, provide educational resources, state websites, articles pertaining to current legislation, activism, events, and more.
Hi Teresa,
What a wonderful idea that not only highlights ecofeminist philosophy, but it too connects to something you have passion for. As I have been following along with your blog posts throughout this semester, it is clear that the ocean holds importance to you so I am glad to see that you are making awareness about the degradation to this ecosystem central to your activist action. As I read through your praxis plan, I was immediately connected to Rachel Carson’s “Undersea.” As humans we are familiar with the dry terrain; the ocean appears to be recreational, a blanket of blue at the edge of land making this complex system of life vulnerable to acts of harm perpetuated by superiority. Carson focuses our attention on this ecological web as each layer of the ocean is filled with life that we cannot even imagine, all at risk by our actions. Having said, bringing awareness and suggesting actions that we can each take to protect the environment is important in applying philosophy to practice, especially living in a society that is rooted in patriarchy and capitalism as many are unaware of the connectivity that all life holds. I find the polls that you propose to do a great way to get feedback on the topics which need the most attention for environmental action. In addition to sharing facts about the Jersey shore and its beach erosion and pollution, I think it would be great to add in questions that connect the degradation of the ocean to the oppression of women and/or other vulnerable populations. For example, you could pose a poll question that asks how ocean pollution contributes to health risks of vulnerable populations, i.e. contamination of drinking water sources that women may experience the effects of firsthand. Another suggestion I can offer is to include posts about key figures in the ecofeminist movement that have contributed to the protection of the ocean and its connectivity to life. This could include a segment such as “quote of the day” or even sharing a few of their key contributions to engage with your followers as a representation of what activism has looked like over the years. As far as the shell formatting of your page, I think it looks great, you incorporate a visual header, your group name and it is a public page, perhaps beyond the class you could host community events whether it is educational groups or field work in protecting the ocean and shorelines. Although I do not have Facebook, I will be pleased to pass this on to those I know who do! As you provide your update, I am looking forward to hearing about the engagement you have with this page. I would love to potentially see some screenshots of sample postings and which poll results you found most surprising and/or alarming. Wishing you the best of luck in this activist project, I am truly looking forward to reading your update soon!
Best,
Kylie Coutinho
Kylie –
Thank you for your suggestions! I plan to implement a few of your ideas! 🙂
Teresa
Hi Teresa! I like that you have chosen a praxis based on your love for the ocean! The Facebook page looks great, and is easy to find (I have already joined the group). I like the idea of using the polling questions to gauge where people are and then offer information based on the feedback. I also think that 3-5 bullets of information that can lead to easy implementation is the appropriate amount. You could then use each bullet point as content that you highlight for a single post. This means that from the content that you have already created, you would have 3-5 posts to share on either the group page or to use on other platforms, if you decide to cross-promote. Another idea would be to collaborate with some other people or organizations who are focused on beach erosion, local movements, etc. It could also be related to your passion topic, something like connecting with an environmentally safe SPF brand that you could share with your followers. I am doing my praxis on plastic consumption and alternatives for everyday use. I thought about you and your praxis in writing mine – if I come across anything useful for beach goers, I’ll be sure to share. Looking forward to seeing your next steps – good luck!
Christine –
Thank you so much for your support and for joining my FB page! As you can see I started with some lighter polls and ice breakers just to get started and create a lighter atmosphere. This week I will start with some trivia style questions followed up with short/concise fact posts. I hope you can participate!
I am most definitely going to take some of your suggestions and implement those ideas. 🙂
Teresa
Teresa
Hi Teresa – what a great idea! I’m really excited by seeing everyone’s ideas on this project. I love that you made yours interactive, and included many different aspects of what the beach means to people. I live in MA, but have always had a huge love for the beach, and it saddens me that they aren’t taken care of the way they should be. This looks like it will be a good resource for information for people, and one where people can learn in a fun way. I’ve joined the page and look forward to seeing what you can do with it!
My only suggestion would be broadening the range from New Jersey beaches to waterfronts worldwide. How does local boat activity affect the quality of the water? What kind of activisim projects are going on in your community and in others around you? Something that a group of people in my town have arranged is a group “trash pick up” day. A group of people (volunteers) will meet at a certain spot in town to go for a walk or a hoke, and bring along a small trash bag, picking up litter they may find on the way. We live in a small suburban town, but we have a surprisingly large amount of litter on our streets, likely due to high-travel roads that run through our area. This is completely independent, and not at all put on by the town, just those that care for it. This is always a great success! Maybe you could arrange for a group of people to walk a local beach and collect any trash or possible recycling you find on the way. It could even turn into a monthly or bi-monthly event as word spreads and people want to help out. Good luck! Can’t wait to see how you make out.
Just saw that I made a typo – that should obviously say a “walk or a hike”, not ‘hoke’. 🙂