Barba believes in the power of educating the next generation of marine conservationists, Arctic scientists and sailors. With a 10-year track record of working with whales, Barba collaborates with universities and secondary schools to support the development of a tailored and impactful marine curriculum.
By providing visually engaging content we are able to reach the younger generation with an engaging conservation message. We like to include a human element as to trigger the excitement for both ourselves and our audience. The above photo portrays a Barba crew member in close interaction with a pod of orcas in Arctic Norway in 2017. Photo by Matthew Ferraro.
Our content is of little value if we are not able to reach our audience. Since the very beginning we have had success with an ever growing media outreach since the start back in 2009. For the past two years we have been able to get the structure in place to start working with educational institutions both to increase to outreach. We are currently listed as a supplier in a Horizon 2020 application, and if successful, we will be providing content for 9 institutional partners across 6 European countries with a possible outreach of 200 000 school children. We have separate letters of intent for cooperating with the University of Iceland and the University of Stavanger, which has an educational component to the scope of work.
Additionally our partners contributes with spreading our content through their social media channels, securing additional outreach.
The Arctic Sense expedition has been selected as a partner to supply immersive 360 content and linear footage to create a virtual reality educational program for schools and museums across the Nordics. Our target audience will be children aged 11 – 14 years. This was made possible by a Nordplus Horizontal grant, and coordinated by the University of Iceland.
Whilst Barba collects the content, Whale Wise with the University of Iceland will develop the story.
To advance marine conservation, we want to immerse the public in the Arctic Sense expedition – to involve them in the science, share our experiences and ignite a passion for our ocean. These next few months the Barba crew will continue to collect footage of scientific fieldwork and wildlife encounters to be used for the program, while Whale Wise will work towards creating the educational program with the University of Iceland.
As the UN Decade of Ocean Science begins, we have a duty to share the wonder of marine life with the public and inspire the next generation of ocean advocates.
“On behalf of the team, I am honored that we have been chosen as a partner for a program that underlines our ambition to provide adventures with purpose. With spectacular whale and nature interactions we make education exciting, whilst infusing it all with a nature conservation message.” – Andreas B. Heide, Barba.no Mission Director
“We are thrilled that students and individuals across Norway, Iceland and Denmark will have the opportunity to be immersed in Arctic Sense – the research and the wildlife. This is a rare chance for many to glimpse a rapidly changing environment and see for themselves what is there so they can want to protect it.” – Alyssa Stoller, Whale Wise Co-founder
Meeting these aims will involve a diverse team of educators, explorers, scientists and interns.
University of Iceland
Atlanten lower secondary school, The North Sea Oceanarium, Gedsted School, Borgarhólsskóli, Whalesafari Andenes and Húsavík Whale Museum.
With unique access to the marine environment and extensive experience with professional photographers and marine mammals, we are well positioned to deliver captivating content. Additionally as we have a science background, which to include a scientific angle to our our work. We also tie the content together with interviews. A multinational crew enables us to interact with audiences in different countries. The photography can be used for educational videos and printed material as well as online use.
In 2020 we contributed to the first printed book from the Arctic Whale expedition to Iceland. Click here for pdf version.
We were an early adapter of 360 camera technology, aquiring the first unit in 2016. This technology allows for an even more immersive experience, allowing the audience to get emerged in even deeper into the ocean world. VR requires specialized rigs with up to 6 cameras, for filming with a spherical view.
For optimal view of 360 content you need 360 googles, as shown in the right hand image. The content can also be seen on an ipad or iphone, or on a computer as shown in the video below (use the mouse cursor to change the field of view.
Video above. Press play. Next, click and drag to enjoy the 360 viewer experience. To access the file from your phone, click here.
The latest member of the Barba crew is the cartoon character Staur (a name deviated from old Norse for orca, staurkval). Staur is a curious orca that comes along on our journey. He will help us reach the youngest audience with engaging storytelling and an underlying conservation message. Staur is developed in cooperation with Helen Munch-Ellingsen, descendent of the painter Edvard Munch. It´s worth mentioning that Helen used to babysit both the Barba dog and captain, some decades back.
We firmly belive that in order to reach any audience, you need engaging storytelling, which is what we ultimately provide. To reach kids and grown ups alike, you need to make the content exciting, while infusing it with both education and a conservation message. This is made possible by the ecosystem surrounding the Barba platform, with skilled sailors, competent scientists, devoted photographers, journalists and a range of partners in the form of universities, educational institutions, service providers and mission partners.
Our work
