Passionate environmental campaigner

TRENT C G WILLIAMSMay 15,1974-April 9,2022

The environmental movement lost a passionate advocate last month when educator and marine biologist Trent Williams passed away while scuba diving at the age of 48.

Trent grew up on the sandy beaches and among the abundant marine life of Mount Martha and the Mornington Peninsula.

He attended Peninsula Grammar from the age of five and his childhood was characterised by his love of the sea. His respect for nature was further nourished by his involvement with the local scouts and their regular bush camps,where he learnt and practised the mantra of doing a good turn daily. The desire to be there for others came to define his character and underpin his values.

After leaving school,Trent studied at William Anglis,first in hospitality management;and then later graduating as a certified sommelier,before establishing a promising career working for many of the Mornington Peninsula’s notable vineyards.

Shortly after his 32nd birthday,Trent was diagnosed with multiple tumours growing in and on his nerves. At one time,his neurosurgeon was monitoring five tumours in his brain and multiple smaller tumours in his spine. One operation lasted 11 hours,leaving him deaf in his left ear;and after several heart-related episodes,he was required to have a pacemaker fitted.

These ongoing health issues eventually forced Trent to leave the wine industry and he began working part-time for Southern Ocean Education while volunteering for the marine conservation group,Sea Shepherd.

Trent Williams.

Trent Williams.Supplied

The more he learnt about the precious state of our marine ecology,the more passionate it made him. It was about this time that he saw a documentary entitledThe Cove,that irreversibly changed his career trajectory. He subsequently travelled to Taiji in Japan to witness and protest against the annual herding and slaughter of dolphins that had been depicted in the documentary. He then travelled to the Faroe Islands in Denmark to try to stop the annual slaughter of pilot whales. His experience of these brutal killings of helpless ocean creatures shaped his passion for marine conservation that dominated the rest of his life.

For the next decade,Trent worked as a marine educator,taking his knowledge of the sea into hundreds of classrooms.

An accomplished scuba diver,underwater photographer and skilled communicator,Trent would often dress in his persona of “Seaweed Stevie” and share his stories to explain the threats posed to the ecology of our seas and oceans.

In his spare time,Trent was a tireless volunteer for Sea Shepherd in the preparation of theSteve Irwinand other vessels ahead of their months-long crusades into the Southern Ocean to stop the killing of whales. He led weekend clean-ups of beaches from Lakes Entrance to Westernport and Port Phillip,often returning with hundreds of kilograms of debris. He led remote clean-ups in Arnhem Land working with the indigenous Dhimurru rangers on country sacred to the Yolngu people;and closer to home,organised teams of divers to collect debris and litter from the seabed.

More than six tonnes of rubbish were removed by hand from Victoria’s waterways under Trent’s leadership. He also joined the Save Flinders Pier campaign to help protect the precious underwater habitat of the weedy sea dragon at one of his favourite diving locations. Trent’s easy-going nature,encyclopaedic knowledge of the marine environment and passion for conservation galvanised supporters in all his voluntary endeavours.

Trent touched the lives of everyone he met. He was a force for good,signing all his emails with a simple phrase:The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. His was a genuine belief that education could overcome society’s environmental challenges;and that every item removed from the sea that doesn’t belong there,contributes to making our oceans healthier and our marine environment more sustainable.

Trent is survived by his three children Ella,Ethan and Keely,partner Karen Spencer and parents Rod Williams and Nola Heaney.

Charles Reis is the chair of the Save Flinders Pier Campaign.

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