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Collaborating for Conservation in 2019
Happy Holidays and thank you for all you do to create a healthier blue planet! It has been a year of significant progress and exciting opportunities to collaborate with partner…
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Sea Youth Rise Up 2018
At a time where the world is faced with herculean challenges, it is imperative that we engage the passion, idealism, and energy found within the youth of today. Among…
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Happy World Oceans Day!
Feliz Día Mundial de los Océanos! يوم عالمي سعيد للمحيطات Bonne Journée Mondiale de l’Océan! 世界海洋日快樂 Fröhlichen Tag des Meeres! Счастливый Всемирный день океанов! শুভবিশ্বমহাসাগরদিবস! Felice Giornata Mondiale degli Oceani! ハッピー世界海洋デー Vrolijk Wereld Oceanen Dag! ਧੰਨਵਿਸ਼ਵਸਮੁੰਦਰਦਿਵਸ! Feliz Dia Mundial dos…
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South Carolina Aquarium Breaking Down Plastic: A Call to Action to Address Plastic Pollution
Guest Blog by Al George, Director of Conservation, South Carolina Aquarium [Note from Editor: With it being World Oceans Day week, with…
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World Oceans Day 2017 Annual Report
Thanks to your participation, and that of hundreds of organizations, schools, businesses, and governments, World Oceans Day reached new heights for global ocean awareness and involvement. With 1,000+ events…
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Youth Making Waves for Ocean Conservation
2016 brought a variety of challenges and triumphs for our oceans. While the world faced the hottest year on record and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef suffered from its largest coral bleaching event, we were still able to celebrate the establishment of the largest marine protected areas on earth in Hawaii and Antarctica, and cities and countries around the world put disposable plastic bag bans in place. As 2017 begins, there are still many goals to be met towards a healthier ocean. With high expectations to continue the trend of protecting ocean spaces and decreasing plastic use, there is still a need to fill a major gap in these processes: creating opportunities for youth engagement. With youth ages 24 and younger making up nearly 40% of the world’s population, it is imperative that we involve young people in creating a movement for a healthier ocean. This past year, The Ocean Project prioritized youth engagement and youth leadership development in a few ways. We launched the collaborative campaign, Sea Youth Rise Up, and created the World Oceans Day Youth Advisory Council. We created the Council to expand the reach and impact of World Oceans Day not only on June 8th, but also year round. From dozens of applications, 11 youth were chosen from around the globe. This bright and diverse group of young people, ages 14-22, come from a variety of backgrounds and educations. They come together with unique sets of concerns and a passion for protecting our oceans. Among other things, the Council members helped decide the winner of the third annual World Oceans Day Photo Contest and also wrote a series of blog posts for the World Oceans Day website. In their blog posts, the Council members share stories of ocean issues which matter most to them, and their motivations for joining the Council. In 2017, we will be looking to significantly expand our youth initiatives, with the collaborative development of Sea Youth Rise Up and expanding the scope of activities with the World Oceans Day Youth Advisory Council. The Council will be furthering their involvement through helping us develop culturally appropriate information and materials in multiple languages and collaborating with us to create a global alliance of youth for our ocean, including tweens, teens, university-age students and other millennials. If you or your organization know young people who would like to get involved in World Oceans Day, subscribe to the World Oceans Day newsletter to learn more. We are excited to work with our partners to enable more youth take action for a healthy ocean, and together create a better future for us all. Click on the names below to read each Council member's blog post from the Youth Making Waves series. Kevwe, Nigeria Melati, Indonesia Eugenia, Portugal Brandon, Curaçao Gabriella, Canada Mohammed, Morocco Caitlin, Australia Sang Jin, Germany La Tisha, Trinidad & Tobago Baylee, United States
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2016 World Oceans Day Annual Report
For World Oceans Day 2016, celebrations were held in over 100 countries across the globe, and millions of people were reached online. Our newly released, 2016 Annual Report, highlights the growth and success of World Oceans Day this year. As we prepare for 2017, we are focusing much more not only on rallying the world in June, but also on providing ways for organizations and individuals who get involved on World Oceans Day to become more engaged in protecting and conserving our oceans throughout the year. Thank you for joining this global celebration of our oceans. We look forward growing World Oceans Day even more in 2017! Many zoos and aquariums created unique ways to celebrate World Oceans Day - have a look at the latest blog from the Seattle Aquarium on the World Oceans Day website to see all the ways they found to celebrate this special day. It's not too early to let us know that you are interested in partnering with us for World Oceans Day 2017, or if you just want to learn more about World Oceans Day please contact us: info@worldoceansday.org.
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Shedd Aquarium Pledges to Protect our Blue Planet Year-Round
This guest blog comes from Aislinn Gauchay, Assistant Director of Great Lakes and Sustainability at Shedd Aquarium. Shedd Aquarium is a Supporting Partner of The Ocean Project. Earth. The third rock from the sun. Our humble planet has many names, but what makes our Blue Planet truly unique is what covers 71 percent of our surface and without which life would not exist: water. Oceans are the heart of our planet: they shape weather and wind, are home to one million animal and plant species and are the primary source of protein for more than 2.6 billion people. Oceans serve as the foundation for a delicately balanced food web that supports all life, from the Marianas Trench to the top of Mount Everest. Our oceans and the animals that call them home are critical to sustaining life on earth, human life included. However, our relationship to and dependence upon healthy, abundant oceans is not universally acknowledged. The most critical threats to our oceans are produced by human activity, such as overfishing, habitat degradation and pollution. More than 8 million tons of plastic trash end up in the ocean every year, including millions of disposable plastic bags and bottles. Though our oceans are often uncelebrated, there is one day out of the year where a plethora of organizations like the Ocean Project and Shedd Aquarium team up to celebrate what makes our planet blue on World Ocean’s Day. For this year’s celebration, the Ocean Project and singer Jack Johnson ignited the #WaveForChange challenge, asking people to do something to help our oceans. Shedd Aquarium’s President and CEO Dr. Bridget Coughlin took the #WaveForChange challenge on behalf of our organization and pledged to continue to reduce our plastic usage, spread the message, and encourage others to join us in making a difference. Shedd Aquarium is taking action on the issue of plastic pollution in our ocean and is constantly looking for ways to reduce our use of this seemingly omnipresent commodity in innovative ways. We started small, by providing reusable bags instead of disposable plastic bags, installing reusable water bottle refilling stations, and eliminating plastic straws onsite. Our goal is to continue this initiative at Shedd, in our community, and throughout the country. For example, during this year’s Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series event in Chicago, we worked with race organizers and sustainability partner organizations 11th Hour Racing and America’s Cup Endeavor Chicago to inform event attendees and thousands of guests visiting Chicago’s landmark Navy Pier about the impact of plastic pollution on our lakes and oceans, offering them an opportunity to pledge to reduce their household plastic use. In 2015, we extended our commitment to freshwater and marine conservation at a higher level by joining forces with two other aquariums, Monterey Bay Aquarium and National Aquarium, to form the Aquarium Conservation Partnership (ACP). As a co-founder, and thus an executive committee member, Shedd works with fellow industry leaders to advance ocean and freshwater conservation policy goals. This includes advocating for the expansion of marine protected areas and increasing protection for exploited species. At Shedd, conservation is critical to everything we do. Whether it be sourcing only sustainable, restaurant quality seafood for our animals or pledging to reduce our use of plastic, Shedd believes we can all take steps and make a big difference toward protecting and preserving our oceans. We can do more together than alone. You can learn more about Shedd’s conservation initiatives on our website.
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Rising Up for the Ocean
Growing up on the coast of Florida, I had the chance to connect to unique marine environments and their inhabitants at an early age. Experiences with my family exploring Florida’s water resources, and learning more about these habitats through summer camps and education programs prompted my first interest in the wonder of the ocean. As I got older, my interest in marine science grew into an interest in ocean conservation – working with my friends and family to take action to protect the priceless marine resources of my home state. Through these early experiences I learned the importance of the ocean, how it connects people from all backgrounds on a global scale, and how it plays a key role in the existence of life on earth. At a young age I also learned the ocean is in trouble. From plastic pollution and climate change, to overfishing and habitat destruction, this priceless natural resource is threatened by the actions we take on a daily basis. Now through my work directing the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit, and work with aquariums and conservation organizations on a global scale, I’ve seen the urgent need for action to address these challenges now. I’ve also seen the importance of engaging young people as leaders in the ocean conservation field, building on their passion, new ideas, and energy to build a movement to protect our blue planet. The Sea Youth Rise Up campaign, launched in the spring of 2016 as a collaborative effort between The Ocean Project, World Oceans Day network, the Big Blue & You and the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit, is designed as a platform for young people to rise up for our ocean, share the important work of young conservation leaders, and inspire a global audience of young people to understand the important leadership role they play in protecting the ocean. Utilizing World Oceans Day as a rallying point, the campaign brought together seven young ocean conservationists from the United States, Canada, and the Bahamas: Ben May, Laura Johnson, Dazja Dorsey, Baylee Ritter, Simeon Bethel, Lindsy Myers, and Gabriella Schauber, for three days in New York City and Washington D.C. – allowing these incredible students to share their message of the importance of protecting our ocean with world leaders and their peers. Selected through a global video contest, as well as nominations from our Sea Youth Rise Up partner organizations, our 2016 Sea Youth Rise Up delegates arrived in New York City on June 7, 2016 and prepared for an exciting lineup of events and activities to celebrate World Oceans Day 2016. During our time in New York, Sea Youth Rise Up co-creator, Danni Washington and I joined our delegates for a Live World Oceans Day Google Hangout on Air, hosted from the New York Aquarium, where delegates had the opportunity to share their ocean conservation work and interests, the importance of youth leadership in the field of ocean conservation, and advice for other young people interested in ocean conservation who watched the broadcast from around the world in the United States, New Zealand, India, Curacao, Pakistan, Germany, Somalia, Greece, the Bahamas and Canada. A #SeaYouthRiseUp social media and Thunderclap campaign further highlighted the importance of youth leadership in ocean conservation to a global audience. Delegates also had the exciting opportunity to meet with ocean conservationist and singer/songwriter Jack Johnson, and attend the United Nations World Oceans Day reception. After a whirlwind tour through New York City, our Sea Youth Rise Up team headed out early on June 9 for our nation’s Capital where they participated in a White House Roundtable with members of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Through this unique experience, delegates had a chance to share their support for the creation of additional marine protected areas, and discuss the administration’s ocean conservation priorities. Our D.C. adventures continued with a stop at the Newseum for Capitol Hill Oceans Week, where our team members took part in a live broadcast with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and visits with staff members from Youth Service America and EarthEcho International during a wrap up picnic on national mall. We are incredibly proud and inspired by the young people who stepped up and raised their voices for the protection of our ocean through this special event. We’re also excited to continue to share their stories through the upcoming Sea Youth Rise Up short film, tracing their ocean conservation journeys and Sea Youth Rise Up experience, further calling on a global movement of young people to rise up and take on the challenges facing our planet’s marine ecosystems. A special thanks to the partners and sponsors who made this program possible – The Ocean Project, World Oceans Day network, Big Blue & You, Youth Ocean Conservation Summit, NOAA, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center network, jetBlue, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium, Youth Service America, and EarthEcho International. We are incredibly grateful for your support and belief in the power of young people to positively impact our planet. If you’d like to learn more about Sea Youth Rise Up, and the inspiring work of our 2016 delegates, be sure to check out www.seayouthriseup.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Sean Russell is the co-creator of Sea Youth Rise Up. He is the founder and director of the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit, and works with SeaWorld, Mote Marine Laboratory, and conservation organizations on a global scale on youth leadership initiatives. You can follow him on twitter at @seandrussell.
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Thank you for celebrating World Oceans Day 2016!
Over the past two weeks, hundreds of events were held, thousands of individuals celebrated, and millions of people were engaged online for World Oceans Day. Aquariums and zoos, and other visitor-serving organizations once again played an integral role in the festivities, inspiring and activating thousands of visitors. Thank you so much for being a part of this global celebration of our oceans. This year’s theme was ‘Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet’, and people all over the world were focusing on the prevention of plastic pollution. Organizations committed to using less plastic and organized beach cleanups to clean their local beaches and waterways. Many establishments continued to implement the Better Bag Challenge and various iterations of it, at their celebrations. Aquariums like Shedd Aquarium, Texas State Aquarium, Virginia Aquarium and many more joined Jack Johnson and took the Wave for Change challenge by sharing videos of themselves doing the wave. You’re encouraged to keep the Wave for Change growing at your organization throughout the summer! The online buzz about World Oceans Day this year was huge! #WorldOceansDay trended second on Twitter with over 146K tweets. Instagram posts about World Oceans Day reached over 290 million people, and over 65 million people were reached on Twitter. Numerous zoos and aquariums participated by tweeting inspiring messages and sharing incredible photos of marine life. Celebrities like Richard Branson, Ellie Goulding, Pharrell Williams, Adrian Grenier, Nelson Mandela and more shared photos and tweeted their support for our oceans. Notable organizations such as the United Nations, CNN, National Geographic, LIFE, the White House and more joined in spreading messages of ocean conservation. World Oceans Day teamed up with Youth Ocean Conservation Summit and The Big Blue and You to create Sea Youth Rise Up, which brought seven youth ocean conservation leaders to NYC and Washington DC. The youth spoke about pressing ocean issues and solutions in a live google hangout at the New York Aquarium. Click here to watch their broadcast. The youth then headed to Washington DC to meet with ocean leaders at the White House, including discussing protecting more special coastal and ocean areas (see www.BlueBackyard.org for more information on some leading sites for protection). World Oceans Day also introduced the World Oceans Day Youth Advisory Council. There are 11 members on the council all coming from different countries around the world. The new advisory council will help expand the reach and impact of World Oceans Day, on June 8th, and year round. World Oceans Day will continue to engage youth throughout the year! World Oceans Day wouldn’t have been so successful without your organization’s passion for ocean conservation. World Oceans Day happens once a year, but our ocean should be loved and respected throughout the year. Stay tuned for new campaigns and initiatives to celebrate our oceans all year long! Thank you for your support and participation!
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