Youth Mentoring

The zeal, dedication and passion of our future marine researchers are the bedrock on which blue whale conservation and research can prosper.  Through our Marine Science Youth Mentoring Program, for 10 years Blue Whale Study encouraged these qualities by investing in local youth.  Operating most years between 2010-19, the program was offered to four local high school students interested in a career in marine or environmental science, creating an opportunity for them to explore beyond the normal boundaries of their education.

Our Mentoring Program offered the exciting possibility of close encounters with pygmy blue whales and other marine mammals, a basic grounding in nautical skills essential for this type of work, practical experience in the basics of scientific fieldwork, and an emphasis on the teamwork necessary to work together as a crew in a potentially hazardous environment.

Throughout the life of the program, Blue Whale Study had generous support from the Isobel and David Jones Foundation, Australian Geographic Society, Uebergang Foundation, the W.V. Scott Trust and the Wettenhall Foundation.

Sadly COVID stopped the Program in its tracks, and since then we have been too busy with other work to resume it.

Schools & Community

Blue Whale Study’s operations are nested in rural south western Victoria, with connections interwoven in many of the coastal communities. The mighty Southern Ocean bounds the area’s coastline, and shapes and influences much of the tourism, industry and lifestyle activities that occur here.

Numerous schools and community groups have shown a passion for their surrounding marine environment.  The Blue Whale Study and Dr Pete Gill have harnessed this passion through youth mentoring (see Marine Science Youth Mentoring Program) and by delivering an array of educational presentations at local festivals and events, schools and naturalist groups.  Strong associations and relationships have developed with individuals and groups who seek to conserve this region’s marine environment in general, and marine wildlife specifically.