Research, Education, Conservation
Anita is an award-winning itinerant artist, curator and educator and researcher. She is motivated towards co-designing values-based leadership through education and community processes working at the intersection of art, equitable placemaking and technology: Open Source Culture and Technology (ethical and ecological implications) and STEAM education, across a range of interdisciplinary
Meet The Team
A Multi-disciplinary approach
Lucy Hunt
Founder and Director
Lucy Hunt is a marine biologist with a Joint Hons degree in Marine biology and Zoology and a Masters in Marine Environmental Protection. She has been running marine awareness and education workshops and activities for all ages for over 15 years. In 2014, she founded Sea Synergy to help raise awareness of the importance of the ocean and encourage others to fall in love with the ocean and to help protect it.
Lucy has been nominated as an Ashoka Changemaker, an Ocean Hero, and Kerry Businesswoman of the Year. Additionally, her work on ocean health and plastic pollution has been recognized by HRH Prince Charles. Lucy has managed and created international marine education projects inspiring over 100,000 people to engage in positive action for the Ocean such as the Volvo Ocean Race Sustainability Education program 2017-18.
Eleanor Turner
Project Management, 2018 - 2020
Eleanor Turner is a Marine Biologist and educator, with several years experience in management and financial services. Eleanor was Manager of Sea Synergy Marine Awareness and Activity Centre, until Dec 2020 and was responsible for running several marine education and outreach programmes, including the Marine Institute-funded Marine Explorers in primary schools’ programme in Kerry. She is also a member of the Heritage in Schools heritage experts panel and provides hands-on classes in marine, freshwater and biodiversity-based topics.
As research project manager Eleanor was responsible for liaising with schools and community groups as well as all reporting on research projects ensuring swift and effective delivery on all our projects. We were sad to lose Eleanor but we remained in contact through her new role as the Kerry BIosphere Officer.
Damian Foxall
Sustainability Manager, 2018 - 2019
Irish sailor Damian Foxall has competed in ten round-the-world races, resulting in numerous world records and four round the world titles. Damian’s experience in the marine industry ranges from competing as an athlete to coaching and project management.
Damian’s true appreciation for the natural environment stems from his childhood experiences growing up on the Southwest coast of Ireland. Later in life, he pursued a career working offshore in all of the world’s oceans. He works as a marine consultant across multiple platforms and disciplines to highlight the importance of ocean health, most recently during the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, Damian worked for Vestas 11th Hour Racing as sustainability manager promoting ocean health as part of the team’s conservation strategy.
Alec Crowley
Consultant, Inshore Fisherman
Rebecca Murphy
Sustainability Research Assistant
Rebecca is a marine biologists with a Masters in Applied Marine and Fisheries Ecology. University of Aberdeen and BSc Hons in Ecology and Environmental Biology from University College Cork. Here research has focused on selective catch using data in technologies that prevent bycatch and the presence of microplastics in intertidal marine invertebrates.
As part of Sea Synergy Rebecca worked in outreach teaching marine biodiversity and ocean literacy principles to students at primary (as part of the Marine Institutes- Explorers Education Programme) and secondary level (Cork Coco). During this time she was seconded into the MARPlas project underaking desk-based research on the Life Cycle Analysis of the Fishing Net and developments in global initiatives to reduce marine plastic waste.
Dr Anita McKeown
Design Team Lead
Anita is an award-winning itinerant artist, curator and educator and researcher. She is motivated towards co-designing values-based leadership through education and community processes working at the intersection of art, equitable placemaking and technology: Open Source Culture and Technology (ethical and ecological implications) and STEAM education, across a range of interdisciplinary projects, processes and partnerships.
Anita has been working in communities using participatory co-design, towards innovative approaches to resilience (social, ecological and economic) for close to thirty years focusing on the relationship between traditional wisdom and 21st century skills for the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.
Using a range of tactics; situated arts practice, publication and education, she works to facilitate the co-creation of locally scaled interventions that are context-responsive and ecologically sensitive. Working across artforms, digitally and analogue, projects arise from extended relationships with people and place to contribute to and encourage systemic self-organisation and resilience.
Dr Tara Baoth Mooney
Design Team, Eco-textiles
Tara is an artist and designer
Dr Colin Keogh
Design Team, Innovation Engineer
Colin is an award winning highly driven & innovative Engineer, with qualifications & experience in innovative technologies in the Mechanical and Energy engineering sectors such as Biomass Energy, 3D Printing,Additive Manufacturing, Biomedical Engineering & Innovative Design
He has been working as a research engineer in UCD since graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Energy Systems Engineering from UCD. After working with a number of large European Union FP7 funded research projects (Arbor and EnAlage), he undertook his own research in the product design, innovation and additive manufacturing areas.
Colin co-founded The Rapid Foundation in 2014, which aims to disperse 3d printing technology to 3rd world locations and conduct printing workshops with schools in the UK and Ireland. The Rapid Foundation's IMechE Charity grant, won him the 2016 Fritz Schumacher award and was a noted project in the 2016 UN Global Sustainable Development Report.
The NWPP is a Government of Ireland initiative, led by the Environmental Protection Agency and funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. Further information on the NWPP and the 2019 funding Call - Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy is available on the EPA website. You can also follow us on Twitter @EPAWasteRes.
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This project is funded by the EPA National Waste Prevention Programme (NWPP).