The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) will present The Blue Blind Spot: The Most Important Infrastructure Project That No One Is Funding as part of its Maritime Distinguished Speaker Series.
Chris Ragland, founder and executive director of Sea League — a Santa Barbara organization innovating how youth connect to the ocean — will discuss ocean access, stewardship, and the importance of building connections between coastal communities and the marine environments that surround them.
The event is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17 at the museum. SBMM members are invited to a pre-lecture reception from 6:15-6:45 p.m.
Tickets: Free for Navigators Circle members, $10 for SBMM members, $20 for the public, and $5 for students and educators with valid school ID or email.
For reservations, visit sbmm.org, email reservations@sbmm.org, or call 805-456-8750.
“Ragland will explore the idea that nature connection should be treated not simply as a charitable cause, but as essential public infrastructure,” event organizers said.
Drawing on Sea League’s work creating immersive ocean experiences that cross economic lines and bridge neighborhoods, he will examine how direct connection to the sea can cultivate future stewards, scientists, entrepreneurs, and the workforce needed for a thriving blue economy.
The talk will target the Santa Barbara Channel as one of the most ecologically significant marine environments on the planet, while highlighting the reality that many people living along the surrounding coastline have never meaningfully experienced it, SBMM said.
Ragland will discuss what is possible when ocean fluency is built at scale and how that vision could strengthen marine conservation, workforce development, community resilience, and the long-term health of the coastlines on which society depends.
“There is no institutional infrastructure that normalizes ocean immersion for coastal communities,” said Ragland. “This fragmented familiarity produces fragmented stewardship.
“You can’t build a coalition broad enough to protect something that most of your community has never had the chance to experience.”
“Chris Ragland brings an inspiring and necessary perspective to the conversation about the future of our coast,” said Dean Noble, SBMM executive director.
“His work challenges us to think differently about who has access to the ocean, why that matters, and how those connections shape the next generation of marine stewards,” Noble said.
A waterman-turned-social entrepreneur, Ragland combines a decade of experience as a surf coach, lifeguard, and kayak guide in Channel Islands National Park with leadership in environmental advocacy and public engagement.
As creative director at FinalStraw, he helped advance efforts that eliminated 300 million single-use straws.
He has also collaborated with NOAA and California’s Ocean Protection Council on public engagement and served on the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council.