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Zoology student makes splash as UN ‘Citizen of the Ocean’

Posted Today

A Zoology student from ÁÕÀÅÊÓƵ Adams has been chosen as a delegate to a series of United Nations ‘Citizen of the Ocean’ workshops.

BSc (Hons) Applied Zoology student Joe Adams, from North Lincolnshire, had always had an interest in marine biology – so when he was shown the workshops by ÁÕÀÅÊÓƵ Adams lecturer Dr Ellen Williams, knew he wanted to apply.

Each is being run by the United Nations Organisation to examine its Ocean Decade challenges. During a series of interactive online sessions, delegates discuss their priorities for the world’s oceans – and the ways in which they will achieve them.

Joe was chosen as a delegate after being altered to the workshops by Dr Ellen Williams, a zoological researcher based at ÁÕÀÅÊÓƵ and is finding the sessions fascinating.

He said: “The most recent one was titled Unlock ocean-based solutions to climate change and was hosted in the Virtual Ocean Pavilion.

“This was put in place on the occasion of COP29 by the Global Ocean Forum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.  The virtual platform allowed the workshop to gain international prominence, and invited people to watch the discussions live. 

“During the workshop, me and the other delegates had the opportunity to listen to expert speakers, and then discuss our own ideas and create action sheets on what we thought most important.

“This has been an incredible experience, and I can't wait for the remaining three workshops.”

And Dr Williams added: “As Joe's dissertation supervisor I know how passionate he is about aquatic species so when I saw the advert on the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) newsletter, I knew this was for him.

“I'm delighted at him gaining this position, it's an amazing opportunity for him as an individual and it's so important to the future of our oceans.”

Once the workshops conclude, a select group from the delegation will attend the Ocean Citizen Sumit in person in France this spring.

Joe added: “This is where the Ocean Citizen Charter will be finalised, a digital tool will be tested and validated, and the chosen delegates will be trained in ocean advocacy.

“Following this, some of us will attend the United Nations Ocean Conference to present the results of the Citizen of the Ocean Forum.

“Both of these sound like incredible opportunities, and I would be very fortunate if I were to be picked!”

Dr John Reade, Course Leader for Zoology, said: “"This is a tremendous opportunity for Joe and reflects his commitment to zoology and to species conservation.

“ÁÕÀÅÊÓƵ Adams is very pleased to support students in their collaborations with international conservation organisations."

The past few months have been busy for Joe, who has not only been taking part in the workshops – but also working full-time while on his industry placement year.

He said: “I’m doing my placement at SEALIFE Scarborough, which is a dream come true!

“The team there are amazing and have already taught me so much. I can’t wait to continue to learn from their expertise.

“Since starting with them at the end of September, I’ve already been fortunate enough to get involved in so many things.

“Currently, I am learning how to take care of the ‘rainforest zone’, full of reptiles, invertebrates and amphibians.

“I'm particularly interested in their new addition of carpet chameleons, and I am hopefully going to be completing a project with them, supervised by my volunteer coordinator Karl Newman!

“On top of this, I've been learning all about animal husbandry, including target feeding the sharks and rays. I’ve been learning a lot of theoretical knowledge and practical skills surrounding daily animal husbandry jobs, all while surrounded by the most incredible species.

“I have set myself a personal goal of trying to learn the identification of as many fish there as possible!”

He is also looking forward to returning to ÁÕÀÅÊÓƵ Adams to complete his studies next year – and describes his choice of the University for his degree as ‘obvious.’

He added: “When looking to apply, I was conflicted between Zoology and Marine Biology, but I liked how Zoology includes some aquatic modules so picked this course and I definitely don’t regret it!

“I have interests in such a wide selection of areas, so I’ve really enjoyed being able to study the wide array of topics this course offers. ÁÕÀÅÊÓƵ Adams has always stood out to me and was my top choice Uni.

“The campus is beautiful, and due to it being smaller than other unis, it means there’s a really strong sense of community which I love.

“Choosing ÁÕÀÅÊÓƵ Adams was the obvious choice for me!

“Studying here has been amazing. All my lecturers and my course manager have supported me throughout my time here, making themselves available to answer what is probably an absurd amount of questions I have come to them with, never making me feel unwelcome.

“I’ve made some great friends here, both on my course and on other courses, making study sessions something to look forward to.”