Stories in Stickers: How We’re Bringing Ocean Protection to Life for Kids
A new set of Healthy Seas stickers designed to inspire, educate, and spark action
At Healthy Seas, we believe that protecting the ocean is everyone’s responsibility — and that includes inspiring the next generation of changemakers. That’s why we created a new set of educational stickers: fun and colorful on the surface, but full of meaning beneath.
To bring this idea to life, we collaborated closely with Verter, a creative agency based in Italy that supported the project at every stage — from scouting and recommending the illustrator to helping us refine the creative direction and coordinate the production process. Their input was valuable in selecting the final characters and fine-tuning the visual language, helping to turn our educational vision into a playful and engaging set of stickers.
Together with Verter, we worked with Benedetta Fasson, a young and talented Italian illustrator and animator whose poetic, fresh style gave the project its unique voice. Benedetta’s experience in both storytelling and educational projects made her an ideal partner to interpret Healthy Seas’ mission through images that could speak to children and adults alike.
Each sticker was carefully designed to tell a small story about the sea, the life it holds, and the threats it faces. Together, they form a visual language that can help children — and their families — better understand the challenges of ocean protection, while encouraging simple actions that anyone can take.
We didn’t choose the animals, scenes, or messages at random. They reflect our experience in the field: what divers see when they recover ghost nets from shipwrecks, how marine life is affected by plastic pollution, and the beauty of underwater ecosystems that we work to restore. The stickers also help introduce broader themes — climate change, biodiversity loss, and the importance of individual responsibility. And most of all, they show that everyone, even kids, can play a part in protecting the seas.
What stories do the stickers tell?
We worked together to design each sticker with intention. You’ll meet species that are often affected by ghost nets — from birds to seahorses to turtles. You’ll visit key ocean environments such as coral reefs and Posidonia seagrass meadows. You’ll encounter both threats and solutions: ghost gear and the divers who remove it, pollution and the kids who clean it up.
Some stickers speak to major challenges: empty chairs on the bottom of the sea hints at biodiversity loss. An ill Earth resting in a cloud reminds us of climate change. Others celebrate positive action: divers freeing trapped fish, kids sorting litter, the Healthy Seas cleanup teams at work.
Our goal was to create an educational tool that is not only fun to use but sparks curiosity and conversation. These small images can open up big questions — and that’s exactly what we hope will happen when children stick them on notebooks, drawings, or walls at home.
First stop: Italy’s Dominate the Water event
The stickers will make their first appearance at the Dominate the Water event in Italy, where they will be used at the Healthy Seas booth. Kids will be encouraged to use them freely — to decorate their drawings, create their own ocean stories, or simply take them home and share them with friends.
We will also be presenting the stickers online in the coming weeks, sharing the stories behind each character and scene through a small series of posts and a live Instagram conversation with the illustrator. Stay tuned — we can’t wait to introduce you to this new part of our educational work.
Because sometimes, protecting the ocean starts with something as simple as a sticker — and a story.
"Team Ocean" collecting trash
The kids call themselves Team Ocean. But today they’re not diving — they’re walking the streets and the beach. Because every piece of litter left on land can become ocean pollution. A gum wrapper on the road. A plastic bag in the park. One gust of wind, one rainstorm… and it’s out to sea. Team Ocean knows: the cleanup starts here!
©Benedetta Fasson for Healthy Seas
Seagull with trash in legs
The seagull didn’t mean to bring trash home. But the plastic twine looked like seaweed, the shiny wrapper looked like food. Now it’s tangled. And worse: the nest is tangled too. More and more birds are building with the wrong materials — and getting trapped. It’s time to change the story.
©Benedetta Fasson for Healthy Seas
Empty chairs
The chairs are empty — for now. They hold the memory of life that should be here: the turtle, the shark, the seahorses. If we don’t act, one day these seats might stay empty for good. It’s called biodiversity loss: when species vanish, the entire ecosystem begins to unravel. But there’s still time to change the story — and to keep these chairs full of life.
©Benedetta Fasson for Healthy Seas
Divers cheered by marine animals
For the divers, it was just another cleanup day. But for the fish, the crabs, the octopus — it was a festival. As the last net came free from the seabed, the marine creatures gathered around. “Thank you!” they seemed to say, in their own way. Because sometimes, heroes wear fins and tanks.
©Benedetta Fasson for Healthy Seas
"Born to protect" collecting trash
Some kids dream of flying. Others dream of the sea. This one? Born to protect. Every bottle picked up, every can recycled — it’s all part of the mission. Because protecting the ocean starts one piece of litter at a time.
©Benedetta Fasson for Healthy Seas
