Pasadena Science Fest

Location: John Muir High School, Pasadena

Team Members: Katie McWilliams, Shane McWilliams, Mark Self, Yury Velikanau, Walter Zagzebski

Healthy Seas Ambassador: Julie Encinas

Team Ghost Diving USA was thrilled to be invited back to the Pasadena Science Fest at John Muir High School! Science Fest is hosted by the Pasadena Unified School District and is an opportunity for the community to connect with various STEM career professionals and science-related volunteer and career opportunities. We were fortunate to have a volunteer from our sponsor, Healthy Seas, Julie. Together we talked to people about our mission and how, through Ghost Diving’s partnership with Healthy Seas, abandoned and recovered fishing gear can be given new life and purpose away from the ocean. 

In talking to people at the event, it was fun to hear their experiences and their feelings about the ocean. We offered coloring pages, a game for kids to rescue animals out of the net, pictures, and videos from our missions. Visitors asked a lot of questions about how deep our missions were, what kinds of life we saw at depth, and what types of legislative measures were in place to address the issue of ghost gear. Our team was received warmly by the Science Fest attendees. We were encouraged to hear that many of the visitors were already taking steps to be more conscious consumers. 

We would like to give a special thank you to the Pasadena Science Fest committee and especially Warren Skidmore for inviting us back and ensuring the day ran smoothly.