Outdoor Instructing through the Everglades

Today is World Ocean Day. Below is a photo of the Everglades, a beautiful ecosystem of which only two exist in the world. 

Instead of putting up nets or culling the sharks, people in the Everglades work around the sharks and swim at their own risk because we are in their home. World Ocean Day is a great reminder to reflect on how we interact with our precious ocean - not just today, but every day.

As I’ve been moving the past few days I’ve been tasting the water, noticing it get progressively saltier as we get closer to the ocean. Signs recommend people not to swim as the Bull sharks often migrate upstream. It’s a beautiful example of the connection and interdependence of ecosystems. Ecosystems that we must remember we are connected to, and reliant on.

E rere kau mai te Āwanui, Mai i te Kāhui maunga ki Tangaroa. Kō au te Āwa, kō te Āwa kō au.

The great river flows from the mountains to the sea. I am the river, the river is me.