A voyage of discovery with Seanna the seahorse and her friends

About the campaign

Zurich's research revealed that more than half of the 1000 UK parents we surveyed had no idea what seagrass is and almost a third didn’t understand the benefits. Did you know, some species of seagrass can take carbon from the atmosphere up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests?

To help educate the nation’s children, Zurich has joined forces with Ade Adepitan, presenter, Paralympic medallist and climate champion, to create a book which helps them understand seagrass in a simple and engaging way. The book ‘The Secret Garden Under the Sea’, which was written by former head teacher and children’s author Neil Griffiths, tells the story of Seanna the Seahorse and her friends. It brings to life the importance of seagrass, using characters such as ‘the murky monster’ to depict pollution, and the ‘Emerald Sea Queen’ to represent the restorative powers of seagrass. It is designed to help children and their parents understand the ways in which marine eco-systems help the planet in a fun and engaging way.

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Ade visited Oasis Johanna Primary school to face the ultimate focus group, 20 six-year-olds

Ade Adepitan, presenter, Paralympian medallist and climate champion said:

“Primary school is a really important time to educate children about all aspects of our planet and sustainability in a positive way. This wasn’t something I had the privilege to learn about at school, so I feel passionately that we must take the opportunity to educate this generation to truly understand the topic.”

Dawn Venn, Principal at Oasis Johanna Primary School, London said:

“It was a great experience to have Ade come and read this book for our children. As part of our curriculum, we focus on the importance of environmental sustainability. Enrichment lessons such as this only help to excite our learners about this topic.”

Amy Brettell, Managing Director Zurich Municipal said:

“I adored reading as a child; I felt like I was transported to different worlds through books. I am thrilled that we can now offer such positive materials to help primary school children understand the importance and benefits of seagrass to biodiversity and our own world.”

Neil Griffiths, former head teacher and children’s author said:

“I’ve worked in education for my entire career so taking complex topics and bringing them to life through story telling was a huge part of my everyday career. I’ve always been passionate about bringing some fun and colour into education, this project has really tested my skills with such a complex topic but I’m delighted with the outcome and hope it helps 1000’s of school children around the country to understand more about our oceans.”

Meet the children from the Oasis Johanna Primary school in London’s Waterloo

Ade and Zurich piloted a book reading with children at the Oasis Johanna Primary school in London's Waterloo. The children really engaged with Ade and loved the book and the characters. Overall, they enjoyed learning about seagrass and the important role it plays.