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Jo Marston

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Oceania/Pacific

Name

Joanne Marston

Location

Avoca Beach, NSW

Australia

33° 27' 39.4128" S, 151° 25' 38.3052" E

See map: Google Maps

Member Type

Individual

Website

Bio

I moved to Sydney, Australia in 2003 from the UK after working in the Houses of Parliament and for UK Government Departments. I have a BA Hons in International Relations and European Politics and enjoyed networking with MP's, writing political speeches and lobbying. But my true passion was not in the corridors of politics. It was under the water. With a dive site on my doorstep, I soon got the scuba bug and have since climbed the ranks to become a PADI Master Scuba Diver.

I joined AWARE in 2004 - my job is to get divers around the globe interested, passionate and active in ocean protection and I love it! I'm the Associate Director, Diver Engagement.

I’m privileged to work with some of the most dedicated ocean advocates and am constantly inspired by the difference our dive community makes.

My Blog Entries

Submitted by Jo Marston on Mar. 20/12

Bali Shark Petition Signatures and 100% AWARE Leaders

Just last week I was lucky enough to meet with dive centres and PADI Instructors in Bali. The enthusiasm and support for Project AWARE and our mission to protect the ocean was incredible. It was extremely motivating to return to the office in Australia knowing that our leaders are on the ground, hitting the streets and making changes.

Shark Petition Signatures

Submitted by Jo Marston on Feb. 07/12

Sick and Tired of Mindless Rubbish

Imagine cruising along in your car after a hard day at work. Meandering through incredible green and lush national parks. Gliding over sparkling waters and rivers, sheer cliffs so high you can't see the top. It's a great journey.

But then as you head off the main road to take your exit and turn off home you are confronted with a sorryful sight that can only be described as destruction, pollution and ouright littering.

Submitted by Jo Marston on Dec. 04/11

Two important steps for sharks

Two important steps for sharks have been taken in the past week as a result of all your hard work, shouting for sharks and petition signing! Thank you for being a big part of our Big Shark Shout Out Week.

On November 22^nd, the European Commission announced the long awaited proposal for closing the loopholes in the European Union’s ban on shark finning and the European Union has become a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Sharks.

Submitted by Jo Marston on Sep. 29/11

A Life of Plastic

Earlier this week I met with the co-founders of a new Australian clean beach initiative called Take 3.

The 'Take 3' message is simple: take three pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach or waterway and you have made a difference.

Submitted by Jo Marston on Sep. 15/11

Welshmen Ban the Bag (well not quite, but if you want one - you'll have to pay!)

For those of you that know me you'll know that Wales is very close to my heart.

I was born there, grew up there and my passion for leeks, dragons, daffodils and rugby has been instilled in me from a young age. Even though I now live in Australia (but funnily enough in New South Wales - there's always a connection somehow!) I am today super proud of my fellow welshmen. In just 14 days time they'll be making a huge step towards reducing the amount of plastic waste in our ocean.

Submitted by Jo Marston on Sep. 02/11

Saving Koh Tao - One Dive at a Time

I recently visited the island of Koh Tao, off the coast of Thailand. It's an island geared up (pardon the pun) for divers. Around 350,000 people visit this tiny island each year - to dive, relax, dive and relax plus there's a fair amount of partying as well! It's an incredible place - nothing like it.

Submitted by Jo Marston on Aug. 31/11

in training meeting

sat with with the PADI training folks explaining My OCean

Submitted by Jo Marston on Aug. 25/11

Have you signed this yet?

Submitted by Jo Marston on Jul. 06/11

Signatures, Donations & Dive Shows

I love visiting Malaysia! Firstly everyone is so friendly. Secondly everyone is so generous.

During the recent Malaysia International Dive Expo, divers grabbed their pens and signed our Shark Petition - we collected over 700 signatures at the show. They also put their hands in their BCD's and together raised $1,000 for Project AWARE.

What was more encouraging was the passion of the Malaysian dive community to take action, support the new AWARE and be active.

Submitted by Jo Marston on Jun. 22/11

Finley's Trip Downunder

After splitting from her brother in Bristol, UK, Finley took a detour to Switzerland and then arrived in Sydney, Australia. I've been hanging out with Finley for the past week. She's been to work with me, attended meetings at PADI Asia Pacific, we've hung out at the beach, done a spot of surfing, bbq's and drank a few beers - she's been very busy! And everywhere we've been people have asked me what I'm doing carrying a shark around. Kids in particular are very interested!