The following information was provided to START by the Ocean Project.
On June 8th each year, we celebrate the ocean, its importance in our lives, and how each of us can protect it, no matter where we live. World Oceans Day raises the profile of the ocean, connects people worldwide, and inspires continuing action year-round to protect and restore this amazing resource that we all depend on.
The Ocean Project helps lead global promotion and coordination of World Oceans Day. Since 2002, they have collaboratively worked in partnership with hundreds of organizations and networks from all sectors to help rally the world around June 8th, and continue to grow engagement and action for our shared ocean throughout the year. Over the last two decades, their global network of partners around our planet has grown to include more than 2,000 organizations, including youth groups, aquariums, zoos, museums, groups representing sailors, divers, swimmers and other recreational interests, the maritime industry, religious organizations, governments, the tourism sector, conservation organizations, universities, schools, businesses, celebrities, and many others. Each year an increasing number of countries and organizations mark June 8th as an opportunity to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea.
The Government of Canada proposed the concept of a World Ocean Day, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In 2002, when The Ocean Project began to globally promote and coordinate World Oceans Day development and activities, there were only a handful of events in a few countries. Now, there are thousands of events in over 120 countries and a social media reach into the several billions. To help grow recognition of World Ocean Day, together with the World Ocean Network and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, from 2004 to 2008 the Ocean Project developed and widely circulated a petition urging the United Nations to officially recognize World Ocean Day as June 8th each year. As a result of working with hundreds of their partner organizations, and thanks to tens of thousands of people from all parts of the world who signed online and paper copies of the petition, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in December 2008, officially recognizing June 8th as World Oceans Day each year.
World Oceans Day provides a unique opportunity to honor, help protect, and conserve our world’s shared ocean. The ocean is important because it:
• Generates most of the oxygen we breathe.
• Helps feed us
• Regulates our climate
• Cleans the water we drink
• Offers a pharmacopoeia of medicines
• Provides limitless inspiration!
Participate in a World Oceans Day event or activity this year and help protect the ocean for the future. It’s up to each one of us to help ensure that our ocean is healthy for future generations. World Oceans Day allows us to:
• Change perspective – encourage individuals to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us with hopes of conserving it for present and the future generations.
• Learn – discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected.
• Change our ways – we are all linked to, and through, the ocean! By taking care of your backyard and helping in your community, you are acting as a caretaker of our ocean. Making small modifications to your everyday habits will make a difference, and involving your family, friends, and community will benefit our blue planet even more!
• Celebrate – whether you live inland or on the coast, we are all connected to the ocean. Take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean, and then organize or participate in activities that celebrate our ocean.
Our local celebrations include:
World Oceans Day Beach Cleanup Saturday June 8 from 7-11am at Siesta Key Beach
948 Beach Road Sarasota.
World Oceans Day Family Festival at Mote Saturday June 8 10am – 1pm 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway Sarasota.
