World Oceans Day – Not Just for June 8

Posted by Barbara Mason — June 9, 2011 3:14 pm

While Worlds Oceans’ Day is officially recognized as June 8, awareness activities, fundraisers and ceremonies are now celebrated from the end of May throughout the month of June. World Oceans Day was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Official recognition of June 8 as WOD came through a United Nations General Assembly resolution passed in December, 2008.

Here are a few events we wanted to highlight. For a much more comprehensive look at activities in the United States and around the world, click here:

Students formed a message from a massive talking fish. Courtesy of LA stormwater

18^thAnnual Adopt-a-Beach-Clean-Up – Held at six locations along the California Coast on June 2, more than 6,300 students, teachers and volunteers participated in scouring their local beaches. Thousands of pounds of trash were collected and children learned valuable lessons on the impact that trash has on water, beaches and aquatic life.

Georgia Aquarium World Oceans Day Celebration – We tend to think that most events for WOD are along the coastline. Think again! The world’s largest aquarium, located in Atlanta, GA has set aside the entire week of June 8 – 11 to celebrate World Oceans Day. Activities will include oceans-themed arts and crafts, great aquarium stuff to take home and first-hand looks at how the aquarium’s animals are cared for.

Seabird and Whale Tales Excursion, Plymouth, MA – Sponsored by New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance. Cruises to support marine education and wildlife conservation on June 12 and 13.

Heal The Bay – If you’re in southern California, enjoy the Paddle board

Race, Ocean Festival and Waterman’s History Day on June 11. Activities will begin at 9:30 am on Saturday, June 11 on the Pier at Santa Monica

We hope that if you haven’t already attended an event to honor the seas of the world, you will be able to find an activity near you. However, you don’t need an organized event to spend a few hours picking up litter on the beach, or reducing the number of disposable plastics you use. Keeping the ocean healthy and life-sustaining is a year-round responsibility each one of us should share. As always, we encourage readers to be good stewards of our planet – we only have one.