Due to its global membership, the International SeaKeepers Society has events in a variety of locations. SeaKeepers’ Asia Chapter, for example, regularly hosts educational programs for schoolchildren, plus celebrates environmental achievements annually. In fact, for the past three years, the chapter has held an Asia Awards Dinner to honor individuals who have made a difference. This year’s Asia Awards Dinner is in Singapore on April 13.
Julian Chang, a longtime SeaKeepers member and current board member, hosts the event with his wife Sandra. Julian is further president of the SeaKeepers Asia chapter. While the chapter traces its roots back just two years, it’s incredibly active. For example, just last year, SeaKeepers Asia hosted eight educational-outreach programs. Six of these programs involved taking students out on boats in Singapore. Through these essentially floating classrooms, the kids learned directly from scientists about marine biodiversity and conservation. Furthermore, they performed hands-on research themselves, like collecting water samples and looking at organisms under microscopes. They even learned about scuba diving.
This year, the Asian chapter’s Asia Awards Dinner will present honors to several yacht owners and crew, as well as environmental advocates. While the names will be announced on April 13, previous awardees include Fabien Cousteau and Sylvia Earle (center, above).
However, a special guest is Wendy Benchley, the recipient of the 2014 SeaKeeper Award. The award recognized Benchley’s work on behalf of shark and ocean protection. One of many women recognized that evening, Benchley is additionally co-founder of the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards. Peter Benchley, best known as the author of Jaws, was her late husband (he died in 2006.) He often used the ocean as a backdrop in his novels. He became a dedicated environmentalist and advocate for sharks following the frenzy of the movie Jaws. The Peter Benchley Ocean Awards honors ocean-conservation achievements among marine explorers, researchers, scientists, and policy makers.
MegayachtNews.com is a media sponsor of the International SeaKeepers Society.
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