Today is Mother Ocean Day. Especially appropriate this year with Mother’s Day tomorrow. We’ve kind of got a theme going on this weekend!
What Mother Ocean Day Is All About
I don’t really know. I couldn’t find any information about why May 12th is designated as this day or who started it. I thought maybe the Surfrider Foundation had, but I found only limited references to it on their site.
What I Think Mother Ocean Day Is All About
I think “Mother Ocean” is like “Mother Earth.” She’s a world unto herself and provides a home for life of all kinds to thrive.
I believe this is a perfect opportunity to celebrate not only the life she shelters within her depths and on her shores, but also the life she provides for us. Ships full of import and exports navigate her waters; she provides immense recreational opportunities, like cruising, sport fishing, surfing, and sand castle building; and she also nourishes us with deep sea delicacies.
Our world could not exist as we know it without the oceans. This means we –all of us, even those of us of the landlocked variety—must protect and respect Mother Ocean and her inhabitants.
How To Participate in Mother Ocean Day (Even If You Don’t Live Near an Ocean)
Other than pollution, we don’t have much to offer the ocean. Or do we? Here are some ways you can respect the oceans, no matter where you live:
• Think about what you’re pouring down the drain. Like I wrote in Dawn Saves Wildlife, it will end up in rivers and streams that eventually connect with the ocean, and will pollute the environments many species live in.
• Adopt a sea critter. The World Wildlife Fund has 40 animals you can symbolically adopt, including ocean dwelling ones like dolphins, sea turtles, great white sharks, whales, dugongs (cousin of the manatee), sea lions, walruses, octopi, and clown fish.
• Explore the beauty, mystery, and importance of the sea via Deep Sea 3-D (IMAX), narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslett. (Visit Families.com’s Deal section to get your own copy on DVD.)
• Respect the beach if you visit it. Watch for protected sea turtle nests and don’t disrupt them; if collecting sea shells, especially the larger variety ones, make sure no crabs or anything else are currently calling it home; and of course always throw away your trash.
Don’t forget to search the Coupon Database for items you might use in your household, like Dawn.
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