Phase IV

Lisa (Diz) Glithero, PhD, National Coordinator of the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition recently wrote to OFI to explain the impact of her Round Four project. The coalition is developing a national strategy to identify enablers, gaps, and barriers to ocean literacy in Canada.

Glithero applied for, and received, $20,000 for a project called Building a National Ocean Literacy Strategy in September 2019. The project allowed five artists to create large interactive pieces regarding ocean literacy and to share them in public spaces, collecting participant reactions.

Unlike traditional survey and asset mapping instruments, this approach  used the visual arts to evoke unfiltered, emotional responses from participants. Responses were documented and analyzed together with other data gathered through the larger research project to provide investigators with grittier insights as to how Canadians value, view, and relate to the ocean.

The artists’ reports are now available online as part of the ‘Understanding Ocean Literacy in Canada’ regional and national reports that emerged from the past year's Canada-wide study (18 reports in total). Over 3,000 Canadians and more than 400 organizations participated in this national study found here:https://colcoalition.ca/our-projects/regional-reports/

Glithero thanks the entire OFI team for its  support of this research initiative focused on examining Canadians' relationship with the ocean.

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