Awesome! O’Neill Sea Odyssey Names Winners of Spring 2014 Ocean Steward Art Contest

O’Neill Sea Odyssey and its Board of Directors are proud to announce the winners of the spring 2014 Ocean Steward Art Contest.  

Brisa Arias (grade 4), of Mintie White Elementary in Watsonville, is the grand prize winner.  

Brisa and her teacher, Kate Freels, will each receive passes for a one-hour public sail aboard the Team O’Neill catamaran.  

Three of the four honorable mention winners include:  Colin Keith (grade 5), of Sierra View Elementary in Oakdale; Kaitlin Schmauch (grade 5) of Mar Vista Elementary in Aptos; and Jazmyn Goldberg (grade 5) of Mar Vista.  

These five students will all receive recognition through OSO’s web blog, social media and quarterly newsletter.  Their artwork will also be exhibited in the OSO classrooms. 

OSO provides a hands-on educational experience to encourage the protection and preservation of our living sea and communities.

“Creating art is a powerful means of communicating behaviors and emotions regardless of cultural and/or socio-economic background,” said Adam Steckley, OSO operations coordinator.“We have both recognized and appreciated this for years, and more importantly, utilized these interpretations in OSO’s recent long-term impact study.”  

In honor of Brisa Arias and her award-winning piece, “Pajaro River Watershed,” O’Neill Sea Odyssey will present an enlarged mounted copy of the artwork to both Mintie White Elementary and the City of Watsonville, who provided funding for Freels’ class. 

About the Ocean Steward Art Contest

The Ocean Steward Art Contest is an opportunity for students in grades 4-6, who have participated in the O’Neill Sea Odyssey program, to creatively interpret the watershed, marine and/or stewardship themes learned while attending OSO.

The contest is held twice annually, both in the fall and in the spring, and encourages students to further consider the lessons and experiences of the program.  

Additionally, it is an opportunity for OSO and its Board to connect with, recognize and award the stewardship efforts of the students, teachers, schools and communities.  

To learn more go to: www.oneillseaodyssey.org/blog.  

About O’Neill Sea Odyssey

O’Neill Sea Odyssey was incorporated in 1996 by wetsuit innovator and surfer Jack O’Neill as a nonprofit organization to provide unique ecology, navigation, and marine science learning experiences to regional students in grades 4 through 6. Since this time, more than 75,000 students have participated in the three-hour, hands-on learning program aboard the 65-foot Team O’Neill catamaran in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and follow-up lessons in the Education Center at the Santa Cruz Harbor. The program is free tostudents, however, each participating classis required to perform a community service project. 

The primary purpose of the program is to foster awareness of environmental stewardship and personal responsibility among program participants. This is done by delivering an interactive curriculum that emphasizes the connections between land and sea through a multi-disciplinary approach including ecology, biology, and mathematics.