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Title
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Bevan Dobbs
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Type
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Primary: Student Argonaut
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Operation
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Resilient Planet
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Mission:
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Mission 1: Invaders , Mission 3: Paradise Lost
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Created On
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3/10/2008
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From: Resilient Planet Mission 1: Invaders , Mission 3: Paradise Lost |
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Bevan Dobbs Read more about Bevan Dobbs, a Student Argonaut from Operation: Resilient Planet. |
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Bevan Dobbs
Student Argonaut,
New Zealand
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Bevan has a keen interest in swimming, sailing, kayaking, fencing, the performing arts, and a number of environmental projects in New Zealand where he lives. He is very observant and learns from life experiences. When sailing up the coast of New Zealand, he noticed how far they could go using only wind energy, but if he made the same trip by car it would burn many liters of petrol. This caused him to question how long we can continue to burn fossil fuels instead of using renewable energy resources. Bevan is worried about the health of the planet. He knows there are going to be major changes in his lifetime and wonders what they are really going to be. He can imagine himself in some sort of career in science, maybe doing research in the area of sustainable energy.
Furthermore, he takes an interest in how the world can cope with poverty. His interest led him to sponsor an underprivileged child from Ethiopia. In order to help, he needed a way to raise money. He said that his challenge was to find a steady income so he could make regular payments to the Child Fund. He started his own small import business, reserved a space in an outdoor market, and worked on weekends to raise money. He was successful and is happy that he can support a child who needs help. One of Bevan’s supporters said that he has drive, dedication, and devotion to his life interests.
In his own words
On meeting the other Argonauts
I flew to boot camp. While I was sitting on the plane, a man walked up to me and said, “Excuse me, are you Bevan?” At first I wondered who he was but then I saw that he had a JASON shirt on. He shook my hand and said he was Caleb Schutz, the President of JASON! It was great to meet him. I felt like amazing things were happening already, and I hadn’t even arrived yet.
Thoughts on Dr. Russell Cuhel
On Friday, after we had done extensive planning to find and identify zebra and quagga mussels with Dr. Cuhel, we were planning for the expedition on the vessels Len-Der and Neeskay. We had to count and measure all the mussel samples from the Neeskay (even the tiny ones)! Also, Dr. ‘Cool' taught us about the carbon cycle and carbon testing. It was very complicated and I had a hard time even taking notes! We had to know the differences in shape, Bissell threads, and the resistance of mussels by seeing changes in pH. We did a test to show how the shells dissolve differently in acid. We also saw some amazing video of zebra mussels from the ROV taken aboard the Neeskay.
Graduating to a Field Mission
At the end of Boot Camp the field mission assignments were announced. We were so anxious to find out where we would be going! We wished we could all go on every field mission but it was also so exciting to find out where we were assigned. I am going to the Chesapeake Bay with Dr. Sylvia Earle. I am thrilled about my team and my site and I can’t wait to get started.
Thoughts on Dr. Sylvia Earle
We went to a really nice dinner with Dr. Earle because it was our last night with her. Along with all of her scientific accomplishments she is just an amazing, nice, kind, generous person and our time with her was incredible. She is so passionate about the ocean and everything in it, down to the tiniest living speck. It would be impossible to spend time with her and not begin to feel the same way.
The main thing I learned was how much we are damaging our oceans with over-fishing and pollution, and that the situation is far more critical than many people want to believe. Because of what I learned from Dr. Earle, I will definitely stop eating seafood and I think my family will do the same. I don’t think I will ever take anything from the sea again because I know the impact of doing that. I don’t want to contribute even one tiny bit to the destruction of our oceans.
What JASON means to me
All of my JASON experiences have been fantastic, and I feel so lucky. I have had a fabulous time, and I have learned about so many things. I hope I can share some of this with other people. As always with JASON, the people I’ve met and the things I have learned make me want to keep learning more.
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