The aquarium trade began to boom in the 1850s when the first public aquarium opened at London Zoo. Since then, more and more species have been introduced to the trade of exotic pets for the aquarium hobby, practiced by aquarists committed to successfully maintaining and caring for many different aquatic and marine species.

However, it has become more challenging for new, inexperienced aquarists to enjoy the hobby. This is because of the vast amount of information that is out in the world today that creates a steep learning curve, a sense of elitism amongst the knowledge shared by different aquarists, the increasing complexity of technology and the cost surrounding the hobby.

These trends and changes within the hobby have been noticed by the Chairman and Founder of the Willow's Foundation, Daniel Chapman. He believes the hobby has become "expensive and intimidating" in recent years because of the large volumes of online information that is often misconstrued.

In this article, Chapman shares their plans to inspire the next generation of marine aquarists and gives an insight into future projects aiming to improve the information and educational sources available today.

The Willow's Foundation was created with the mission of sharing and developing an appreciation for marine husbandry, promoting sustainability and marine conservation. The Foundation aims to prepare the next generation of marine aquarists with the skills and confidence to excel in the hobby by providing mentorships, product sponsors, and funding through financial sponsors. How do they hope to achieve this? By launching a scholarship program: a national competition to immerse students of the 11th/12th grade into the world of marine husbandry and the marine aquarist community. 

The competition will give 10 students invaluable skills to develop their knowledge of marine husbandry. Students will need a letter of recommendation from an educator. Once accepted, participants will run through a series of challenges over 20 weeks. 

The initial rounds involve the general application along with a 3-minute introductory video. Next, the selected participants will need to write an essay and build a portfolio of their established aquarium. Equipment and organisms will be supplied by several supporting sponsors, including Ecotech Marine, Biota Aquarium, and ACI Aquaculture. Throughout the program, industry leaders will act as mentors and provide educational lectures to support the students. Finally, the program will end with three finalists who will present their work to the Willows Foundation judges. Judges include Kim Stone, Senior Curator of fish and invertebrates at Georgia Aquarium; Dr. Charlie Gregory, Marine Veterinarian from the Reef Institute; Dr. Gregory J. Barord, Marine Biology Instructor from Central Campus in Des Moines Public Schools, and Kevin Erikson, Director of the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America, MASNA.

First place will be awarded to the student who grasps the in-depth knowledge of the hobby and demonstrates their ambitions for future successes in the field. It is hoped that the grand prize awarded will be a $100,000 scholarship (sponsors are still welcome and greatly appreciated by contacting the foundation via their email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). The runner-up is planned to be awarded a 2-year scholarship for the zoo and aquarium science program at Davidson County Community College (DCCC). Third place could be awarded a 2-week internship at Biota's Fort Lauderdale Aquarium facility. Although, these amazing prizes are yet to be confirmed by the Foundation.

The Foundation is looking for students with varying exposure to the hobby to reach out and encourage more young people new to the hobby to enter. The goal is to "give them enough knowledge [and opportunity] to start their journey," whether in the field or something related to it.

"We want to plant the seed that will never go away. This competition effectively creates 10 viable jobs for 10 different students. So, we will provide a start for these children, and it's up to them to see how far they can take it," adds Chapman. He hopes they will also inspire adults to engage in the hobby by creating a thriving community beyond the program where people can learn and be supported by each other.

The Foundation aims to use the competition to provide an educational platform that gives experienced and aspiring aquarists a source of reliable, consistent, and trustworthy information.

The Willow’s Foundation hopes this program encourages other businesses and companies to work together to rebuild the foundation of the hobby. While other companies have tried to do a similar project on a smaller scale, Chapman describes these efforts as "throwing tiny stones into a big pond, creating small ripples." However, he believes the scale of this project could encourage more prominent companies to offer their services to improve the education of marine husbandry.

It does not stop here. There are also plans to introduce educational textbooks that are accessible to all ages, in collaboration with professionals from the business and educational sides across the industry.

The Foundation aspires to improve the lack of education and reliable sources that are available to students at a young age today; pushing for better education in marine husbandry will be important in ensuring the hobby becomes more sustainable and thrives.

"The goal is to bring in hobbyists in a new way, by providing the equipment and accurate information from reliable sources." Chapman magnifies the importance of change from the different hobby sectors: business and education need to come together and create something new. "[The community has gone] too long thinking this hobby is just a hobby. We're dealing with live animals," he says.

Change is needed, and The Willow’s Foundation hopes to be the catalyst.

The date is yet to be confirmed and more information will be released soon. To keep updated, information can be found here.

By Elise Poore