OCEAN STEWARDSHIP PAST & PRESENT

AVILA BEACH, CA.

The theme for my design is “Avila Beach Ocean Stewardship, Past and Present.” It explores how our identity as “Ocean Stewards” has shifted over the last 100 years, illustrating our relationship with the underwater environment in Avila Beach from Past to Present. As the entrance to the Central Coast Aquarium’s outdoor learning space, the imagery is intended to narrate a story and educate children and adults alike about human impact and our relationship with Avila’s underwater species.

For the Left side, I’ve chosen to portray our historic concept as “Ocean Stewards:” the commercial diving industry, including species that were harvested and abundant from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. I drew my inspiration from my family’s diving history and career in commercial fishing in Avila Beach. I spent my childhood studying the black and white photos of my family next to an 800 pound Sunfish, diving for abalone, then processing the abalone close to where the Central Coast Aquarium presides today. 

The right side portrays our evolving identity as “Ocean Stewards:” a marine biologist taking notes underwater. She is recording and studying threatened and also successful species. The biologist is measuring a purple urchin, a successful species that has been eating the roots of the kelp so it floats away, depriving the struggling abalone of its food source, so it has no energy left to spawn. I’ve included many rockfish, which have been one of the most successful examples of local marine conservation since they were endangered in the year 2000. With the implementation of rockfish conservation areas, their numbers have skyrocketed. I’ve painted 3 playful sea otters, which are making a comeback from near extinction, and I’ve added graceful bat rays for movement and whimsy. The bat rays glide from the right panel into the left panel, tying both together with the shared kelp forest in the background.