In March wildlife at our hubs are breeding and feeding. Whales, sharks, turtles and the deep ocean will be the barometers that give us an insight, in real time, to the health of our Blue Planet.

Chris Packham, Liz Bonnin and Steve Backshall will be with our incredible marine life to see how they are coping in the face of increasing pressure. Never before has it been more important for this team to stand shoulder to shoulder with scientists and conservation groups as they monitor the wellbeing of our seas.

The ocean covers 70% of the Earth's surface - making it a blue planet. You can request to download the Blue Planet Live booklet below. 

Copyright: The Open University

Click the image above to download your booklet.

Learn more about our oceans

Plastic pollution is a huge issue for our oceans. Find out how long it takes for certain items to decompose, if they're not deposed of properly.

Our Qualifications

Our Modules

Our Free Courses

Dr Toni Gladding, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Engineering

Copyright: The Open University Toni has been involved in the waste management industry since 1992, and has researched the environmental and occupational impacts of waste management throughout this time. She has had funding from the Environment Agency, Defra, NERC and Zero Waste Scotland to research issues including waste collection frequency, air quality around waste plants, emissions, environmental impacts of recycling facilities and the health issues associated with waste management.

She is curriculum lead for the MSc Environmental Management at the OU. 

Find out more about Dr Toni Gladding

Dr Miranda Dyson, Senior Lecturer in Biology

Copyright: The Open University Miranda is a behavioural ecologist in the School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems. Her main research interest is in animal behavior and communication and much of her research has centered on understanding the evolution of female mate choice in South African and North American frogs and toads. She has also worked on communication in barn owls, duetting in bush shrikes, wave communication in giant water bugs and behavior and communication in fiddler crabs. She is currently involved with research on the pollination of snakeshead fritillaries by bumblebees on floodplain meadows and female mate choice in fiddler crabs. 

Find out more about Dr Miranda Dyson

Dr Carl Boardman, Lecturer in Energy and Environmental Sciences

Copyright: The Open University Carl is an interdisciplinary research scientist that looks at the environmental impact of waste management processes and end-of-life materials. His main focus is on understanding how plastic products breakdown within different environments (e.g. composting, anaerobic digestion, terrestrial soils and the world’s oceans) and the impact their presence may have on the microbiology of the oceans and health of animals. Carl's specific expertise in this area however is understanding the speed at which carbon materials breakdown and investigating what the controlling variables are. Other research interests include quantifying greenhouse gas emission from natural ecosystem and using satellite technology to investigate natural global phenomenon (e.g. pollution in the oceans and deforestation).  

Find out more about Dr Carl Boardman