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How People and the Ocean Shape One Another

  • Writer: Kristin Bayans
    Kristin Bayans
  • Jan 4
  • 1 min read

Updated: Jan 12

I met the ocean for the first time at five-years old. As the relentless waves crashed, my tiny body rose and fell in my mother’s steady hands.


A young child wearing a blue and white gingham swimsuit with ruffled trim stands barefoot on a sandy beach near some large rocks. She holds a small blue plastic shovel in one hand and looks down toward a bright red bucket at her feet, with waves and scattered seaweed visible along the shore in the background.
Five-year old me on a Florida beach after my introduction to the ocean.

The taste of salt clung to my lips, and goosebumps traced my trembling limbs. Wide-eyed and adrenaline-fueled, I took in that infinitely old place knowing full well it was capable of swallowing me whole.


Decades later, I moved to Oregon and met the ocean again. That same ancient and terrifying magic enveloped me. I knew then that I would do anything to share its wonder, protect its more than human communities, and love its wildness. 


A woman stands behind an outreach table set up on a bluff overlooking the ocean, waves rolling in behind her. She wears light-blue striped overalls, a long-sleeve shirt, and a navy cap, and smiles as she holds up a small model of a Gray whale. The table in front of her is covered with educational materials, including brochures, identification cards, rocks, shells, and a jar of marine debris, and a large monument stands on the rocks just behind her.
Gleefully striking my best pose with a Gray whale model while volunteering as interpretive guide for the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve at Smelt Sands State Recreation Area on the central Oregon coast.

Harboring Change is a way for me to fulfill that promise. It is an effort to connect people to the ocean and to their own agency in conservation spaces. With this blog, I surface:


  • Inventive ocean-based community science projects

  • Community-collected data shaping ocean policy

  • Creative initiatives galvanizing action for the ocean

  • Personal reflections on in-between ocean topics

  • Clear pathways for you get to involved in advocating for ocean preservation


​If you feel pulled to the ocean, this space is for you. Explore the stories, share them with your people, and discover ways to support its waters.

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