The University of Connecticut’s Avery Point Campus will host a symposium titled “The Plastic Ocean” on Thursday, March 25 at the Branford House Mansion. The symposium presenters will explore the effects of human consumerism on the world’s oceans, and will approach the issue from many angles, including art, journalism, biology, and anthropology.

Several presenters will focus on the Pacific Ocean and the mass of human-produced trash in the North Pacific known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is dominated by plastics. The symposium will augment an on-campus art exhibition of the work of artist Susan Schultz, who creates porcelain sculptures and installations that show the persistent problem of the life cycle of plastic.

The program will begin at 6 p.m. with refreshments and a viewing of Schultz’s exhibition. Musician Craig Edwards will provide Pacific Island and sea shanty music. Beginning at 7 p.m., the presenters will each speak for 15 minutes. The presentations will be followed by a question-and answer period.

Speakers include:

Susan Schultz, artist, Stonington, Conn.

Wayne Sentman, wildlife biologist, Oceanic Society, San Francisco, Calif. (live by webcam from Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii).

Penny Vlahos, assistant professor of marine sciences, University of Connecticut, Avery Point, Conn.

Lonny Lippsett, journalist and managing editor of Oceanus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Mass.

J. Kehaulani Kauanui, associate professor of American studies & anthropology, Wesleyan University, Conn.

The symposium is sponsored by the Avery Point Learning Community, a group of faculty and students engaged in making connections across disciplines, focusing on indigeneity and the environment, globalizing forces, sustainability, and migration. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information:

Diane Barcelo, 860-405-9058, diane.barcelo@uconn.edu

Christine Buckley, 860-486-0871, christine.buckley@uconn.edu