The One Ocean Roadshow

For many of us living inland, the sea can often feel out of sight and out of mind. But our behaviour is having a harmful impact on the sea. It’s time for a change. It’s time to reconnect with the sea, learn all that it has to offer us, and what we can offer in return.

What is the One Ocean Roadshow?

The One Ocean Roadshow is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Access Group Foundation, Buffini Chao Foundation and others. Thanks to our funders, between March 2025 and December 2027, we'll be working closely with a broad range of communities across the north of England to grow ocean literacy and raise participation in volunteering for 10,000 people across the region.

Explore your connection with the sea through interactive sessions, citizen science, beach cleans, creative and wellbeing activities. Keep an eye on our website for free workshops, school sessions, coastal trips and special events coming to a town or city near you from April 2025.
Lorna Donaghy, One Ocean Roadshow Project Officer

What does the project entail?

Through 250 co-designed workshops, we’ll introduce schools, youth groups and community organisations to the wonder of the ocean, tailoring sessions to issues facing communities and protected areas. We’ll build awareness of marine citizen science programmes that upskill people, while supporting health and wellbeing through access to blue and green spaces.

Our aim is to support transformational change; creating a region of ocean-literate teachers and young people, plus leaving a legacy of community-wide behaviour change, driving benefits for local people and our ocean.

The One Ocean Roadshow is travelling across the north of England, from the west coast of Morecambe, Blackpool and Formby across to the Yorkshire east coast, from Scarborough down to Hull. We’ll also be covering the inner city and surrounding areas of Manchester, Preston, Blackburn, Bolton, Warrington, Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Doncaster and York.

A young girl in a yellow coat holding up a stone. A teacher is standing behind her loking at a form.

Previous events included:

We organised a special day trip for a community group from Leeds to Filey. It was an opportunity to leave the city for the beach, to find rest, learn, and enjoy miles of warm sand with friends and support workers. For many, this was their very first time at a beach. In the afternoon, we enjoyed a picnic, played beach games, and the group contributed valuable time and effort by leading their own Beach Clean on Filey South Beach, before heading back to Leeds.

The One Ocean Roadshow Project team hosted a free screening of ‘OCEAN with David Attenborough' followed by a Q&A panel discussion. It was also opened by our short documentary Hiraeth Yn Y Môr. The documentary raised poignant questions from pupils invited from a nearby high school, who asked about the future of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the role of invasive species in UK waters and about the aspirations and plans for projects One Ocean Roadshow, Restoration Forth, Schools and Youth offers and Citizen Science. Thank you to all who attended, visited our stalls and connected with us on the day.

We deliver education sessions across schools. We explore the wonder of our ocean, the threats it faces and pro-ocean actions we can make to protect our marine environment, witnessing the transformative impact of Ocean Literacy not only on pupils but also on the wider school team and staff, creating shifts in thought and pro-ocean behaviour across generations.

Some of the truly amazing, curious questions from Y5 & Y6 at Black Horse Hill Junior School included:

🦭 “How can seals get harmed by plastic?”

🧭 “Why did NASA stop exploring the ocean floor?”

🦑 “If less than 5% of the ocean has been explored, can the Kraken really exist?”

🐋 “Is it true that if a human gets swallowed by a whale, they will spit you back out again?”

What makes ocean literacy so important?

Natural marine heritage across northern England is facing multiple urgent threats from pollution, development and our changing climate. Worryingly, many communities in our project catchment, which covers 20% of England’s most deprived areas, are disconnected from their coastline. Capacity for delivering ocean literacy and outdoor learning is also critically low in schools and community organisations. We are passionate about working with vulnerable and harder to reach communities across England to offer them the valuable skills and opportunities to connect with and protect our ocean and wider environment.

By empowering thousands of people to develop their ocean literacy and take action for their marine environment through citizen science and behaviour change, our project will begin to mitigate risks to our natural heritage.

Book a session

Our FREE marine education sessions cover topics such as: climate change, litter and pollution, ocean protection and local marine wildlife. Sessions last up to 1 hour and include an interactive presentation and activity.

If you are a school, or group that works with young people, and would like to request your FREE session please use our booking form below.

Book today

Community Groups (Adult) – Book a session

If you’re a community centre or a community group and would like to arrange a session we would love to hear from you.

From our personal histories and heritage, stories of migration and language, industry and work, to our emotional wellbeing and health, there are many ways to explore our connection to the ocean.

Please contact Lorna to start a conversation lorna.donaghy@mcsuk.org / education@mcsuk.org.

About our funders

National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage.

Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.

The Access Group Foundation

The Access Group Foundation exists to provide the long-term sustainable philanthropic legacy of the Access Group. Their mission is to improve people’s lives – one grant at a time. They want to positively impact people disadvantaged in our digital world. As they state, ‘The Access Foundation is delighted to have been able to support the work of the Marine Conservation Society because clean and thriving oceans are critical for life on earth and at sea.’

Buffini Chao Foundation

Buffini Chao Foundation believes in the power of education and opportunity in helping children and young people aspire to a better future. They support a variety of organisations, championing their mission to improve the lives and futures of young people.