This post is written for the “Save the Ocean” group-writing project.

“History repeats itself.”

The catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was made worse by the fact that many people ignored the lessons of the past (about cycles of hurricane activity, the importance of wetlands, how to build safely by the shore and how to prepare for the worst). Only by knowing where we come from can we hope to understand where we are and where we might be headed.

Image credit: Replica Of Flora Del Mar, Maritime Museum, Melaka, Malaysia by Kok-Leng Yeo.

Learning more about our local maritime and maritime history is a great way to find the kind of inspiration we may need to help save the ocean:

• Visit the nearest maritime museum (there’s one in Melaka, pictured above).
• Find out about historical research or archives on local conditions and events at your community, college or university, and see if these centers need volunteer help.
• Involve your local high school/college/university group in a maritime history project.
• Interview retired fishermen, dock workers, life guards, shipyard operators, scientists and others along the shore. Record their stories of the sea.
• Help organize a local maritime festival commemoration or historic reenactment.

January 2008 is “Save the Ocean” month here at The Giving Hands. Click here for more information on how you too, can save our oceans, and remember to subscribe to The Giving Hands for your daily updates!