‘The Secret Garden Under the Sea’ exclusive book-read with Ade Adepitan at Oasis Academy Johanna

Zurich Insurance UK teamed up with TV presenter, Paralympic medallist and climate champion Ade Adepitan to launch a children’s book about seagrass which sets out to raise awareness amongst primary school children and parents in a fun and engaging way.

Our pupils at Oasis Academy Johanna in Waterloo were excited to welcome Ade to their school and listened intently to an exclusive book reading session with the TV presenter.

The book ‘The Secret Garden Under the Sea’, was written by former head teacher and children’s author Neil Griffiths. It tells the story of ‘Seanna the Seahorse’ and her friends, bringing to life the importance of seagrass, to help young people learn about organic ways to help the planet through simple storytelling.

Using characters such as ‘the murky monster’ to depict pollution, and the ‘emerald sea queen’ to represent the restorative powers of seagrass, the book 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.

According to Zurich’s study, over half (58%) of primary school parents want to see sustainability on the national curriculum through non-alarming materials. They believe children need to learn more about climate change. Whilst it is currently included in the curriculum, it features across a range of subjects - not in its entirety.

Our pupils at Oasis Academy Johanna thoroughly enjoyed the interactive session with Ade, with the opportunity to ask him questions about the book and the characters, telling everyone their favourite characters from the book and even being able to read the book themselves in an impressive story-telling manner!

Ade Adepitan, TV presenter, Paralympic 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.”

The campaign coincides with Zurich’s partnership with the Marine Conservation Society, a charity that helps to restore seagrass meadows around Britain’s coasts.

Dawn Venn, Principal at Oasis Johanna Primary School, London commented: “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.”

The book has been written by children’s author and former head teacher Neil Griffiths. Designed for 4–7-year-olds, the story was created by Ade Adepitan and Zurich and brought to life by illustrator Erin Mackay.