This online retreat on Ocean Plastics and Public Theology took place on 13 May, 12-3pm BST.

The following resources were recommended by speakers and participants:

• A Rocha Plastics Toolbox www.arocha.org/plastics-toolbox

• Our World in Data, for statistics on plastic use Our World in Data

• The Outlaw Ocean, for investigative reporting on oceans https://theoutlawocean.com/reporting

• Discard Studies Discard Studies: Wasting, Systems, and Power | Books Gateway | MIT Press

• Citizen science project on plastic nurdles: https://www.nurdlehunt.org.uk/

Speakers

Rebecca Helm, Assistant Professor, Earth Commons Institute, Georgetown University

Rebecca R. Helm is a marine ecologist who studies life in the open ocean. Her research focuses on the ecology of the high seas, and how biodiversity on this ‘other half’ of Earth is impacted by human activity. She has authored publications in scientific journals like Science, PLOS Biology, and Marine Biodiversity. She is also active in science outreach, is a Templeton Foundation Beyond the Ivory Tower fellow, and her reporting has appeared in outlets including The Atlantic, Slate, and BioGraphic. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Brown University and was a postdoctoral researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. 

Robert Sluka, Lead Scientist, Marine Conservation Programme, A Rocha International

Bob writes on the interface between Christian faith and marine conservation and has worked cross-culturally, living for extended periods in Australia, India, Great Britain and his native USA where he currently resides. He combines research with theological reflection and on-the-ground conservation. His research focuses on marine biodiversity conservation, plastic pollution, and fisheries, particularly marine protected areas.

Bob has written Grove booklets, ‘Hope for the Ocean’ and ‘Marine Plastics’.

Sam Robinson, ECLAS post-doctoral research associate, University of York

Sam’s main research interests are in the relationship between science and society. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he is also the vice-president of the International Commission for the History of Oceanography (ICHO) and the Commission of Science, Technology and Diplomacy of the Division of History of Science and Technology of the International Science Council. He is the conference chair of the British Society for the History of Science, and a member of the History of Science committee of the British Science Association.

Sam completed a PhD in History of Science and Technology at the University of Manchester.