My initiative to raise awareness about oyster reefs
the trailer of the documentary
This documentary, produced and directed by Mike Sakas, tells the story of a group of scientists and researchers who are restoring Hong Kong's endangered oyster reefs. These unsung heroes filter millions of gallons of water daily, act as essential habitats for marine species, and protect Hong Kong's coast from storms.
The Idea
After watching the documentary in a private screening, I was deeply touched by the scientists' passion and devotion to the project. I shared what I learned with some friends and family and was quite shocked when none of them knew about oysters' endangered state and their significance in Hong Kong's ecosystem and culture. I wanted to raise awareness about this issue by organizing a screening of the documentary and a panel discussion with the team at my school, and I hoped that my peers would be inspired by the documentary as much as I was.
Organizing a Screening of the documentary
I reached out to my film teacher, who kindly connected me with the school's Commercial Production Group student leaders. They helped me organize a meeting with my year head, the school's Secondary Sustainability Integrator. She told me that sparing even one 50 min assembly session would be hard, while the screening and sharing would require a lot more time than that. After multiple brainstorming sessions with the CPG leaders, I suggested holding the event in an IBDP Environmental Systems and Societies class, as it might be related to their learning. I reached out to the teacher who teaches the class, who liked the idea, believing that it would be a great real-life case study that would help their learning.
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After coming up with a solution, I contacted a member of The Nature Conservancy who held the private screening I attended and pitched our ideas. What came next was a long process of finding a date that worked for the class as well as several scientists and researchers who would ideally attend the panel sharing. (talk about the more details after its confirmed).