By Amalia Tuchmann
Last week, we shared a blog post featuring World Ocean Day events from all over the world! We wanted to recognize some additional events, specifically events held in diverse sectors, to showcase how people in every field, with a range of skills and interests, have celebrated World Ocean Day this year.
Recreational
DiveOceanus, a scuba diving center in the Maldives, celebrated World Ocean Day with a reef cleanup. Their dive team, with support from the community, removed plastic debris from the lagoon and reef.
Corporate
United by Blue, a sustainable apparel and accessories company based in the United States, celebrated World Ocean Day with a cleanup at Tacony Creek Park in Pennsylvania. Over 70 volunteers attended the event, where they collected 1,874 pounds of plastic pollution and other trash.
In celebration of World Ocean Day, Biotherm, a skincare company based in France, hosted paddle and cleanup events in Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm in collaboration with the nonprofit GreenKayak. Volunteers cleaned up local waterways and prevented trash from polluting the ocean.
Tourism
For World Ocean Day, Sandals Royal Curaçao, a resort, partnered with AFC Ajax, a Dutch football club, and Limpi, a local Curaçao recycler, to inspire students to have fun while taking plastic waste seriously through Future Goals, a program that removes plastic found in the ocean and upcycles it into soccer goals and nets for schools across the island. In celebration of two years of the Future Goals program, students were challenged to create something new from plastic waste and trash in a friendly ‘Future Goals: Art Challenge’ competition.
In celebration of World Ocean Day, Canareef Maldives, a resort, hosted a special awareness program with an environmental and marine life expert. The session educated guests, team members, and local students from the Seenu Atoll School on the vital role we all play in protecting our ocean.
Education
International School Suva, a primary and secondary school in Fiji, hosted the Veivueti Kids Ocean Conference to celebrate World Ocean Day. Four local schools came together to share their innovative and creative ideas for protecting our ocean, such as a mangrove planting academy and litter audits.
In celebration of World Ocean Day, the University of Rhode Island hosted educators for a cruise aboard the RV Endeavor. The educators gained hands-on experience conducting ocean research, collecting sediment samples with a multi-core sampler, analyzing water quality data, and studying plankton.
Maritime
The Port of Hueneme, the only commercial deep water harbor between Los Angeles and San Francisco, celebrated World Ocean Day with an event titled “Catalyze Action for Our Ocean and Climate.” At the event, officials made the historic announcement that the Port aims to make operations zero emissions by 2030, and the event also included a keynote panel of organizations that align with the Port’s mission of growing a blue economy.
Government
The government of Timor-Leste celebrated World Ocean Day with a series of events and activities highlighting the country’s blue economy. The celebration included beach cleanings, the reading of a children’s book titled “O Meu Mar, O Meu Timor” (My Sea, My Timor) by the prime minister, and a leadership training session.
European Union Maritime and Fish, an intergovernmental commission, celebrated World Ocean Day by unveiling a new mural titled “Rock the Boat” in Sestri Levante, Italy. The artist wanted to pay homage to the native marine species in the Mediterranean and to promote collective responsibility of the protection of our ocean. The mural depicts a leudo, an antique merchant boat used to transport goods across the Mediterranean, which is a symbol of the local maritime tradition.
Fishing
To celebrate World Ocean Day, Communities for Fisheries Liberia, a nonprofit organization that aims to secure legal and sustainable fisheries in Liberia, hosted a parade in the Marshall fishing community led by the European Union ambassador to Liberia, which ended with a boat race.
Art and museums
At The Crypt Gallery in East Sussex, England, “She and the Sea: a World Ocean Day Art Exhibition” opened on the 8th of June.The piece serves as a call to action for marine conservation, and visitors are encouraged to participate in cleanups at local beaches, the collected waste from which can be added to the installation, allowing it to grow and change throughout the exhibition period.
