Student dives into Blue Ocean
The Blue Ocean Film Festival brought presenters including Fabien Cousteau from around the world to St. Petersburg. Photo by Allison Dhand.
When second-year Stetson University College of Law student Alexandria Nicodemi arrived at the inaugural Blue Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit in St. Petersburg, she was not sure what to expect. She and other members of the Environmental Law Society had an opportunity to represent Stetson Law during the festival, which brought filmmakers, film-goers, scientists, scholars, and students from around the world to the Tampa Bay region in Florida.
Thanks to the festival coordinators, Nicodemi had an opportunity to attend the films and presentations Nov. 3-9 as a student reporter.
Stetson students were able to meet Sir Robert Charles Swan, the first man to walk to both Poles, whose outreach work and expeditions focused on global climate change include students from around the world. Swan founded 2041, an Antarctic preservation company, and authored (with Gil Reavill) Antarctica 2041: My Quest to Save the Earth’s Last Wilderness.
“For those of you who do not believe in climate change, I think our next climate summit should be held on a piece of ice with a polar bear,” Swan said.
Nicodemi also heard from marine conservation biologist, oceanographer, author, University of York, England, research scholar and professor Callum Roberts, author of The Ocean of Life: The Fate of Man and the Sea. Professor Roberts’ research explores how marine ecosystems, particularly coral reefs, are being altered through a combination of stresses from climate change, pollution, overfishing and globalization.
“It’s incredible that such an event is held in our city,” said Nicodemi. “The Blue Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit is a platform that drives the discussion and inspires change in the way we treat the waters that surround us. It’s great that Stetson can be a part of this change.”
The Blue Ocean Film Festival will return to St. Petersburg after a stop in Monaco, its other global headquarters.
Post date: Nov. 26, 2014
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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