I had the pleasure of talking to Tom Lewis —musician, seasoned naval crewman, and grand storyteller who travels to Europe, Canada and the United States sharing his songs about the sea.

In preparation for our May 2009 podcast, I was looking at the Ocean Literacy Network website. This network consists of a host of organizations that worked together to map out key ideas that students need to know in order to become ocean literate. While I was looking on the site, I stumbled onto a song that was linked from the home page: One Big Ocean, by Tom Lewis.

I contacted Tom at his home in British Columbia and asked him if we could record our conversation for our podcast. He shared this wonderful story of how an inquisitive 10-year old girl stumped him with a question and how it inspired him to write the song, One Big Ocean.

We often think of oceans as separate from one another. Tom’s song helps students realize that our ocean is one big system that is interconnected with all the rivers, lakes, and streams on the planet. Thinking this way helps us all recognize our role as stewards of the ocean. Whether we live near or far from it, our world’s ocean is one that we all share.

To hear the song, click on the audio link below:

One Big Ocean by Tom Lewis

You can also listen to our interview with Tom Lewis, as well as Dr. Christina Massell Symons, oceanographer for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, on our podcast:
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