Mangawhai students celebrate David Attenborough with ocean film event

Steve and Riley Hathaway interview Mangawhai Beach School students at Ocean with David Attenborough.

Mangawhai Beach School students last week strutted the blue carpet before watching a special screening of Ocean with David Attenborough to mark his 99th birthday.

While Attenborough himself may not have been in attendance, the legendary broadcaster, biologist and natural historian’s presence was marked with a realistic life-size cut-out.

The event was hosted by Young Ocean Explorers at Matakana Cinemas and everyone in attendance wore wetsuits, snorkels and masks in what marine educator and organiser Steve Hathaway described as “a fantastic evening with a sell-out crowd and a lot of fun”.

“It was a bold and playful celebration of our blue planet and most likely the world’s first screening of the movie Ocean with David Attenborough, with the audience wearing wetsuits, masks and snorkels,” Hathaway said.

“We wanted to create a fun, eye-catching event that would draw attention to what’s really happening in our ocean. Ocean with David Attenborough is a must-watch for every Kiwi. It’s absolutely magnificent, the cinematography is off the charts. It’s visually stunning, deeply moving and – at times – absolutely harrowing.”

Hathaway and daughter Riley have been on a mission since 2012 to re-shape New Zealand’s marine ecology through the next generation of voters by inspiring every child in Aotearoa to fall in love with the ocean. They educate at schools through a programme they created called Young Ocean Explorers.

An underwater cameraman who provides footage for local and international documentaries, including Attenborough’s, Hathaway also supplies the footage for Riley who fronts the camera for presentations, TV series and social media, where they have amassed more than 13,000 followers.

Mangawhai Beach School students at 'Ocean with David Attenborough'.

Their free, curriculum-aligned digital platform has reached thousands of classrooms nationwide, making the wonders of the underwater world accessible to children everywhere. Their education includes a 21-day challenge each term and currently has around 18,000 children taking part (including home schoolers) from over 840 classes. More than 20 Northland schools are currently involved.

The wetsuit-clad cinema screening was both a tribute to Attenborough’s legacy and a call for urgent awareness and action.

“Attenborough has inspired generations to care for the natural world,” said Hathaway. “We believe the next generation will be the one to turn the tide – and that starts by telling unforgettable ocean stories.

Renowned for his extensive and captivating natural history documentaries, which have been a cornerstone of his fame for more than six decades, Sir David Attenborough’s documentary explores the vital importance of the ocean for our planet’s survival, highlighting its beauty and the challenges it faces.

The film offers glimpses into marine ecosystems and, for the first time, exposes viewers to high-quality footage of bottom trawling and the devastating impact of industrialised fishing – a reality that’s rarely seen but urgently needs to be understood.

Attenborough said: “After living for nearly 100 years on this planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land but at sea. Through the course of my life we have been on a voyage of ocean discovery, only now are we understanding what it means for the future of our world. What we have found could change everything. For once you have truly seen the sea you will never look at Earth in the same way again.”

It was a sell-out crowd at Matakana Cinemas last Monday night.

Hathaway himself has watched the decline of the underwater world over his 40-plus years of diving. He believes we need a drastic overhaul of how we view and treat our oceans, after watching the depletion of seaweed by the burgeoning kina population due to a decreasing snapper and crayfish presence from over-fishing. He equates this to an “underwater deforestation”.

“It’s similar to the forest on the land; you mow down the forest, you’re going to have no birds, reptiles or insects – you lose all diversity of life. If you get rid of the forest under the ocean, there’s no life there as well. Over 80% of our native species actually live under the ocean and we’re losing our kelp forest.

“With New Zealand made up of 93% ocean and only 0.38% of it protected, this puts us in one of the worst ratios in the world for marine protected areas.”

To spark conversation and curiosity, the father-daughter duo has never shied away from bold ideas. Over the years, they’ve donned wetsuits in public spaces across the country – jumping off bridges, walking through malls, interviewing strangers on the street, and even attending a Coldplay concert in full dive gear (where they were spotted by frontman Chris Martin, who serenaded them with an improvised ocean-themed song).

Riley Hathaway and dad Steve at the special screening of 'Ocean with David Attenborough'.

Last week, Mangawhai Beach School teacher Julia Mitchell took 14 students aged 9-13 who have participated in the 21-day challenge, including a trip to the Poor Knights, and said they found the film confronting, powerful and hopeful.

Ocean with David Attenborough is screening at Event Cinemas Whangārei until Wednesday and will be available on National Geographic from World Ocean Day on June 8. To find out more about Young Ocean Explorers, go to: youngoceanexplorers.com or follow them on Facebook.