June 8th is World Oceans Day
June 8, 2009 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Filed under Parenting
Our recent beach trip brought out a slurry of questions from our son: “What is sand made of?” “What are sandbars?” “Do jellyfish bite?” “What is coral?” The questions continued long after we came home from vacation, and my husband took a seat in front of the computer, placed Truman on his lap and the two began to investigate the wonders of the sea. Rick says we are spoiled. Our parents didn’t have the luxury of jumping online to answer complex questions.
During this research, Rick noticed that today is World Oceans Day. The day is part of the World Ocean Project and was designated by the United Nations in an effort to encourage individuals to evaluate their perspective of the ocean, learn about ocean creatures and habitats, and discover ways to become a better caretaker. There are several threats to our oceans – which ultimately threaten us. For one, global warming is causing rising sea levels, altered ocean currents, warming poles, and bleached coral reefs. By educating ourselves and our children, we can reverse those affects. And that is the premise of World Oceans Day. Even if we don’t live close to the ocean, we can still make an impact by making small modifications in our lifestyles, such as decreasing our carbon footprint and following a more “green” lifestyle.
This year’s theme is “one ocean, one climate, one future.” There are World Oceans Day events worldwide, but if you don’t live close to one you can checkout some of the online events and activities for adults and kids such as Habitat Heroes Ocean Day Treasure Hunt and World Ocean Day coloring sheets.
We began celebrating World Oceans Day early. Rick and Truman went to the pet store and bought two beta fish for Truman’s fish tanks. Truman dropped some of the seashells we collected on the beach into the fishes’ bowls.
I celebrated by focusing on the ocean’s wonderful bounty. I went to Snapper Grabbers fish market and bought trigger fish filets and jumbo shrimp, and served fish tacos for dinner.
Hope you have a glorious and “green” World Oceans Day!
Photo, JWJourney
I wouldn’t call it spoiled — I’d call it lucky. To get the same information before the internet you’d have had to make at least one trip to a library, and how many of us would have gone to all that trouble as many times as we access the internet to find answers?