Seas the Day is a marine environment-based scavenger hunt allowing tourists and local communities to participate in citizen science and collect data for marine restoration.
When at a marine reserve with Seas the Day, users will collect a Seas the Day scavenger hunt card and a reusable pen from the information/marine centre or other tourism operators who will explain how the activity works, including the rules around being respectful to marine life. The map on the back of the card shows users where different species live so they can choose which ones they want to count. Some species are underwater for snorkelling and diving; some are in tide pools and on the rocky shore. Users will tally how many of each chosen species they see in the space provided on the cards. When finished, users will return to the tourism centre and log their findings into a shared table on a tablet/computer screen. The shared table connects directly to the researchers so they can access the results.
Users return their completed cards and pens to the tour operator and tell them their favourite species as shown on the card. The operator presents a custom prize - an adoption certificate saying a member of their chosen species is named after them (or their chosen name). The certificate is emailed to the user to keep from being wasteful to the environment. This project aims to bring together marine restoration practices and tourism to benefit the marine environment and people. Data collection is essential to the progression of restoration projects. However, it takes a lot of time and dedication. This project explores a way to allow tourists and local community members to contribute to data collection for these projects. If users can help make observations about species populations, they will be helping to restore the area. At the same time, a greater sense of responsibility for the environment will be growing in users. Seas the Day enables researchers and scientists to spend more time on other areas and projects for restoration. Seas the Day also brings restoration aspects to tourism and provides the operators with environmental responsibility.
The prize (a customised adoption certificate) contains information about the user's chosen species to help motivate them with a fun activity. Hence, they engage further with the environment and develop a deeper understanding. The website allows users to find Seas the Day, learn more about it and connect with other users. It also allows other users, such as tourism operators and marine reserve workers, to connect with Seas the Day.
