Liebster Blog Award

Every once and a while, something truly amazing happens that shakes your perception of reality to the core. No, I'm not talking about the Minister of Fisheries making plans to gut one of the strongest pieces of legislation we have for protecting marine habitat and biodiversity, although it would appear that something like that is still in the works.

Instead, I'm talking about something that changes your perception in a positive way. Something that says people (other than my sister, of course) actually read what we stay up to all hours of the evening to produce. Of course, I had my suspicions: Google statistics, links from other sites, nasty comments (and good ones too, of course). But definitive proof arrived this past weekend, when a colleague of ours honoured us with a Liebster Blog Award.



Before I go any further, I should point out that this is not an award that is not given out by a prestigious committee from a foreign country who judge the merits of every online journal in the blogosphere. Instead, it is awarded to a limited number of blogs by, well... other bloggers, to encourage them in the what they write.

Anyway, it was quite touching to receive this award, particularly considering who it came from. If you haven't yet read The Marine Detective's blog, I highly recommend you do. If you have even a passing interest in the sea and all the amazing things which live there, you will soon be hooked for life.

Now, I have had to choose from among the many wonderful blogs out there, just five on which to bestow this award in return. The choice is made only slightly easier by the stipulation that the blog must be small (about 200 followers or less). With that in mind, here is what I came up with:

Save the Deep Sea

“The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) is an alliance of over 70 international organizations working to promote the conservation of deep sea biodiversity. More information can be found on our website.”

Marine Education and Research Society Blog

This blog by a group of whale researchers, based out of northern Vancouver Island, whose raison d'etre is “Conducting scientific research and providing education in order to promote conservation and understanding of marine ecosystems.”

CHAN'S Lab Views

“Incisive commentary on biodiversity conservation and ecological sustainability research and practice by Kai CHAN'S Lab--Connecting Human And Natural Systems”

The Plastic Ocean Project

“This blog covers four ocean voyages sampling for plastic and the daily findings of Bonnie Monteleone. In 2009, she sampled the N. Atlantic Gyre with Jennifer O'Keefe. Bonnie went on to sample the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 2010, they traveled back to Bermuda to resample the Atlantic. And as of late, Bonnie participated in the 1st transect sampling for plastic across the S. Atlantic with 5 Gyres Institute with help from Danielle Richardet.”

Plastic Manners

This is a unique blog by Taina Uitto about life without (or trying to avoid) plastics. I admit that the content is mostly somewhat tangential to marine conservation, but given the horrendous problem that plastics pose to marine life and the resources Taina provides for avoiding plastics, I thought it was a good fit. In her own words: “The plastic-free project came to me as an epiphany when my friend said something about sardines. But, as soon as I had decided to quit plastic, nothing had ever made more sense.”

The rules of receiving a Liebster Award are as follows:

1. Show thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them. 
2. Reveal your top 5 picks (with less than 200 subscribers) and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. 
3. Post the award on your blog. 
4. Bask in the love from some of the most supportive people on the internet — other writers and artists. 
5. And best of all – have fun and spread the good will. 

Note: the above list does not constitute an official endorsement by Living Oceans Society. These are simply a few of the blogs that have influenced me and some of the content on Water Blogged