Every breath you take carries a speck of the ocean’s secret gardens - vast meadows of seagrass that absorb carbon, release oxygen, and quietly keep the world in balance. That, in essence, is the importance of seagrass: a quiet existent, unobtrusive, yet indispensable.  This year, I received two ocean-themed scripts. At first, I hesitated, worried the projects might feel repetitive. But the moment I read the scripts, all my doubt dissolved. Each story revealed a completely dif

The Ocean’s Heart , written by Jilianne Hoffmann , published by Lerner Publishing Group , is an oceanic poetic picture book that explores the world of zooplankton, their overlooked existence and the daily journey for survival faced by these tiny, often unnoticed creatures. Encountering this work marked a significant shift in my understanding of the sea, something that opened not only my heart but also my mind, the way I perceive ocean and its underwater world. By then, I had