[Essential Lessons in Living with the Sea] World Ocean Day 6/8: Ocean Advocates Launch Online Course, Calling for Action to Save Our Seas

June 8th is World Ocean Day — and also Taiwan's National Ocean Day. What should have been the height of a warm and vibrant summer was instead overshadowed by a COVID-19 outbreak that put the entire country on Level 3 alert. Coastlines were closed, and the livelihoods of many who depend on the sea vanished overnight. Yet three instructors who have long championed marine conservation and ocean advocacy — Chen Ren-ping, Chen Chi-en, and Huang Xiao-mo — refused to stop working despite the hardship. They launched an ocean online course priced at just NT$599 per person for groups of three, hoping to lead more people to understand the ocean and learn about the urgent threats it faces.

The Cite Micro Learning team has partnered with Chen Chi-en, CEO of Taiwan Diving; Chen Ren-ping, Executive Director of Hai Yong Studio; and travel writer Huang Xiao-mo to co-create the online course Essential Lessons in Living with the Sea: Design Your Own Ocean-Loving Life. Structured around three pillars — "Know the Sea, Love the Sea, Connect with the Sea" — the course covers the beauty of Taiwan's oceans, how to travel in an environmentally friendly way, safe and responsible ocean activities, practical tips for reducing waste in everyday life, and how eating the right food can also protect the ocean. Through two hours of clear, accessible, and systematically organised content, the course brings the sea closer to home.

Cite Publishing Group's First Business Unit General Manager Huang Shu-zhen noted that the deterioration of the marine environment is an urgent issue. For instance, research by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) indicates that if ocean conditions continue to worsen, commercially fished species could disappear by 2048. A report by the MacArthur Foundation also warns that by 2050, the total weight of plastic waste in the ocean will exceed the total weight of all marine life. With this in mind, Cite is doing its part by launching this online course — to help more people connect with the ocean and inspire collective action in its protection.

Instructor Chen Chi-en's Taiwan Diving once saw peak summer monthly revenues reach NT$10 million. Though the pandemic dealt the business a severe blow, his team didn't sit idle — they took stock of their resources and quickly rolled out live-streamed scuba diving lessons and future dive vouchers, giving divers stuck at home a way to ease their longing for the sea. Despite the strain of weathering the pandemic, Chen Chi-en also sponsored 100 snorkeling spots in Kenting (each valued at NT$600) for the first 100 pre-order purchasers of Essential Lessons in Living with the Sea, hoping to bring more people to explore the beauty of Taiwan's oceans once restrictions are lifted.

Hai Yong Studio's Chen Ren-ping has been a long-time environmental advocate — having delivered over 800 talks and organised more than 340 beach cleanups — though the pandemic forced every single cleanup event to be cancelled. Some may feel it's difficult to reduce plastic use during a pandemic, but Chen Ren-ping offered this perspective: "Pandemic safety comes first, of course! Reducing plastic is one form of 'reducing waste,' but it isn't the only one. The core value should be 'reducing waste' itself." Ordering what you need rather than what you want — or, as some of his friends do, having unpackaged vegetable boxes delivered to your door — are all valid ways to cut down on plastic.

Travel writer Huang Xiao-mo would normally have spent the summer diving and reporting from various coastal locations, but the pandemic had her confined to home instead. "Even when you can't get in the water, there's still so much you can do to care for the ocean!" She recommended several environmental documentaries: 2020: The Year the Earth Changed, Seaspiracy, and My Octopus Teacher, as well as related books such as The Climate Emergency and Crime Ocean — all prompting reflection on the impact human behaviour has had on our planet.

Essential Lessons in Living with the Sea: Design Your Own Ocean-Loving Life has launched its crowdfunding campaign on the Hahow online learning platform, receiving glowing endorsements from public figures across various fields. The funding goal was reached in just 27 hours, and pre-orders are still ongoing. Originally priced at NT$1,200, the course is available at a special price of NT$699 until July 1st — and just NT$599 per person for groups of three. The first 100 purchasers will receive a NT$600 Taiwan Diving snorkeling cash voucher. Pre-order backers can also enter a lucky draw for books, including signed copies of Ocean Taiwan: A Record of Our Great Blue Territory, among 35 prizes in total — an incredible deal!

For full event details, see the course page for Essential Lessons in Living with the Sea: [http://bit.ly/與海共生](http://bit.ly/與海共生​ ​)

Further Reading:

• Ocean Citizen Scientists Using Underwater Photography to Support Marine Conservation and Fundamental Research

• A Record of the 2023 Biological Classification Conference — Building an Ocean Life Database, Together