World Oceans Day on the 8th of June

World Ocean Day was created to bring awareness of the importance to keeping our Oceans clean and conserve this natural resource of ours. The ocean is imperative to our survival, the microscopic algae called phytoplankton product about 50% of the oxygen we breathe, the ocean also provides us with food, minerals and energy sources.

Canada first proposed this concept of World Ocean Day at the earth summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. A petition urging the United Nations to officially recognize this day on the 8th of June every year was created with the help of the World Ocean Network.

World Ocean Day now includes over 2,000 organizations such as zoos, aquariums, museums, youth groups, swimmers, divers, universities, schools and many individuals around the world.

How can I help?

Awareness needs to be raised for World Oceans Day and to do that every individual needs to do their part.

There are many things an individual can do no matter where they live. Here are a few ideas:

Educate yourself: Read articles on the internet or watch videos on youtube. The first step is to immerse yourself with knowledge

Conserve: Be mindful of your water consumption, use buckets when washing your car and sparingly water your lawn.

Reduce:  Reduce pollutants used in your home and properly dispose of herbicides, pesticides, paints, and cleaning products so they don’t make their way into our waterways and from there to the oceans.

Recycle: Cut down on your waste. Throw your rubbish away properly. Where possible, recycle, reuse, and compost.

Water is not a bin: Protect ocean wildlife by disposing of fishing lines, nets, or plastic items in an appropriate way and don’t just throw things in the water.

Consider your commute: Use eco-friendly vehicles, bicycles, or share a car to work to reduce car pollution.

Share: Spread the word on the importance of ocean health, on community events, and on World Oceans Day.

Look up any events happening in your area to celebrate World Oceans Day or better yet, create your own event and invite all your family and friends.

Ideas for Events

Clean Ups:

Organizing a clean up at your local beach is a great way of connecting with your community. Invite your family and friends to join you in cleaning up your local area of beach. Cleaning up the litter on your beach will allow you to see and experience first-hand the impact of your efforts. These efforts will encourage other people to join you in the future after they’ve seen what an amazing effect you’re having on the environment.

To make the day even more satisfying, why not arrange a meet up at the end of the day with some refreshments and fun to reward yourselves for a hard day’s conservation.

Artistic Event:

Organize a photo and art exhibition depicting our oceans and invite all the local artists and photographers to exhibit. Or get a group together and contact your council to find a wall where you can create an ocean themed mural.

Festivals:

Create and organize an event consisting of ocean themed activities. Create booths focused on adding artistic effects onto discarded plastic and create arts and crafts out of the very plastic that litters our beaches. This could be a place for all ages to participate while learning more about the effects of pollution on our oceans.

Invite a local chef to give a demonstration on how to cook seafood and then have a tasting session. Include a touch tank for people to feel ocean creatures.

Organize games on the beach and get people excited about the ocean. Games are a fun way to create awareness on the oceans problems.

The Facts:

Plastic pollution is causing an extreme amount of harm to our aquatic resources, here is what you need to know:

– 80% of all pollution in the ocean is generated by people
– 8 million tonnes of plastic per year ends up in the ocean
– Plastic pollution is responsible for the death of 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals per year.
– The plastic that ends up in the ocean, ends up in the fish, the fish that we then eat.

Get involved this year to celebrate and create awareness for World Oceans Day on June 8th.