During my sisters fight with auto immune disease and cancer I felt helpless. There was no way for me to contribute. I couldn't fight the diseases for her and I wasn't strong enough to sit there and watch her suffer.
Twenty years later I have found away to assist other children and their families who are in similar circumstances. I teamed up with Paul North, Meet the Ocean and filmed virtual reality (VR) during our recent expeditions to Antarctica, South Pacific and Russia. We donated all of the vision, all the equipment and our time for three weeks to take it into children's hospitals in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia. The response was simply over whelming and based on the success of this year we will be doing a national tour of Australia next year in addition to touring the West Coast of the US.
The power of VR to transport the children out of the hospital and in a few seconds they can be 12000km away with us on the Antarctic peninsula is awe inspiring. Im sure you can imagine the reaction of the children. What got to me the most was seeing the relief in the parents as they watched their children smile and forget even if was for a few short minutes where they were and why they were there.
The Master Reef Guide program is delivered by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators and Tourism and Events Queensland and is the first of its kind for the Reef. Having started my career as a marine biologist working on the Great Barrier Reef I am truly honoured to be nominated as part of the mentor team for this world leading initiative.
Master Reef Guides are recognised as the world’s leading reef guides, interpreters and story tellers sharing the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. These reef ambassadors can provide up to date information on the Reef, share stories of the magical World Heritage Area and explain what you can do to make a difference.
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