Activists from Greenpeace Twickenham and Kingston hosted a photo sharing event alongside Twickenham MP Munira Wilson as part of the organization's Protect the Oceans campaign.
On Saturday January 18, Wilson joined the volunteers at the Exchange community building in Twickenham to highlight the threats posed by the climate emergency to our oceans.
Greenpeace are calling on the ongoing United Nations negotiations on a Global Ocean Treaty to protect up to 30 per cent of the planet's oceans under international law.
Currently, only around five per cent of the world's oceans are protected in this way.
The event featured photos of iconic wildlife such as walruses, whales, giant jellyfish and penguins.
The photos were taken from aboard the Greenpeace ship the Esperanza, which is travelling from Pole to Pole.
Attendees also had the opportunity to experience a virtual reality 3D simulation of the Antarctic ocean narrated by Javier Bardem.
Lynne Horay, a Greenpeace volunteer in the area, said: "As an island nation, we know how important our oceans are for food, tourism and to protect us from the climate emergency.
"We’re really pleased that Munira Wilson MP visited the exhibition and signed a letter to Boris Johnson asking for a senior minister to set sail for the Global Ocean Treaty negotiations."
Speaking to the newspaper after the event, Wilson described what seeing images of the threatened oceans had been like.
"The threat to our oceans is a massive issue that I and many others are really concerned about and I wanted to talk to them about the issue and support their campaigning," she said.
"I think the photographs showing animals found after they had swallowed plastics stood out. Those sorts of images are always very moving."
Referencing her five-year-old daughter, the Twickenham MP described the importance of focusing on ocean protection regarding future generations.
"If we don't take radical oceans soon our children are going to be inheriting oceans full of plastics and other sorts of pollution as well as a much warmer climate.
"I think it's a source of shame for many of us, and it's young people who are really holding our feet to the fire on this.
"That's why I mention my daughter because she often comes home from school talking about environmental issues and how we all need to take a lead on reducing our plastic production."
Wilson described how young people had been so outspoken about the climate crisis during the recent general election campaign that saw her elected to parliament.
Indeed, the direct actions of young activists like Greta Thunberg and Autumn Peltier have inspired climate movements like the Fridays for Future school strikes to steer the global conversation towards how urgent an issue the climate emergency is for younger people.
Does the Twickenham MP support these young pathfinders?
"I think there is a means to campaign and make your voice heard but I don't necessarily support all forms of action that people take," Wilson said.
"I respect their desire to go and demonstrate. I think the idea of regularly taking time out of school to do that doesn't sit comfortably with me but I think they need to be allowed space to express their views.
"Climate change will impact all of us in our daily lives wherever we live," she added.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here