How a NASA astronaut's journey through space inspired her to protect Earth's oceans
Nicole is the 10th woman to perform a spacewalk and the first person to paint a watercolour in space, which depicted Earth's oceans
A NASA astronaut who was struck by the beauty and fragility of Earth during her time in space is calling for global action to tackle the planet's most pressing problems.
American Nicole Stott spent more than one hundred days aboard the International Space Station and Space Shuttle, becoming the first person to paint a watercolour in space.
When she saw the Earth from space for the first time, Nicole was moved by how nature can support human life.
She says: "It's absolutely overwhelming, you think you've prepared yourself for what it looks like and then just to have that extraordinary vantage point, it's a reality check.
"When I looked out the window for the first time, the biggest part of it was the ocean.
"Even though we know that water covers most of our planet, I think in our daily lives, unless you're standing by it, we don't necessarily acknowledge that."
While Nicole's work has taken her on a journey of galactic proportions, back on Earth she believes even the smallest communities have a role to play in protecting the planet.
For World Oceans Week, she is visiting Jersey to take part in several events, including talking to schoolchildren about their environment.
Nicole explains: "We're all together on this planet, I love coming to events where we're acknowledging our place and the significance of the ocean.
"The more we do of this and the more kids experience something like this, the more they're going to grow up as crewmates and not passengers.
"That's the biggest message in it all, if we choose to behave like crewmates, we can create a future for all life on Earth that's as beautiful as it looks from space."
Tamsin Raine and Matt Porteous, founders of Jersey conservation charity Ocean Culture Life, organised this week's events.
Tamsin says: "We've got two days of workshops with hundreds of children coming down to enjoy the week of celebrations.
"This is all about celebrating our oceans, inspiring children to connect and understand the ocean because if we don't learn to understand it then how can we protect it?"
Other activities include a live-stream view of Jersey from space and a beach clean-up.
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