Tuesday, June 8th is World Oceans Day! Our oceans are one of the most important parts of our planet. The ocean covers over 70% of the planet and is home to over a million species. The ocean also provides over half of the world’s oxygen and soaks up over 30% of the world’s carbon emissions. Humans and animals alike need the ocean to live – for food, transportation, air, medicine, and more.

World Oceans Day was first proposed by Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development in 1992 at the Earth Summit to raise awareness about the importance of the ocean in our lives. In 2008, the United Nations declared June 8th as World Oceans Day. Since then, annual celebrations have been hosted globally to communicate the role of the ocean in ecosystems around the world.

Not only does World Oceans Day celebrate the ocean, but it also celebrates our connection as humans to it! This year’s theme is ‘The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods’. The events of this year’s World Oceans Day will focus on the lives the ocean sustains, and be hosted virtually.

Here at EcoCart, we wanted to celebrate our marine ecosystems on World Oceans Day (and every day!). Our oceans are important to our livelihood and the lives of thousands of species, including our own – that’s why it’s important to protect the ocean in any way that we can. At EcoCart, we have a variety of projects that help preserve our water directly or indirectly.

For example, our McCloud River Conservation project helps create a healthy water cycle by protecting the nearby forest. As a result, the river is free of pollutants and able to help offset thousands of tons of carbon a year. Through all of our projects, EcoCart has been able to offset over 25 million tons of carbon to date! With the support of brands and our customers, we plan to continue investing in vetted and verified projects that benefit the environment around the world, helping to protect vulnerable communities and homes all over the world.

How you can be involved

Celebrating World Oceans Day is easy, and you can get involved! Being aware of how your actions can impact the oceans is an important step towards being more eco-friendly and protecting the ocean. You can start by making small changes to your habits at home and in everyday activities.

Spreading the word to your family and friends is another way to celebrate World Oceans Day! By telling them about the holiday, your family and friends can make their own small changes too. Support environmental nonprofits when you can, such as The Nature Conservancy, the National Resources Defense Council, and Oceana, all of which support sustainable initiatives, recovering vulnerable ecosystems, create policies to protect the ocean, and more.

And as always, remember to do your part for the environment where you can! The environment can’t be fixed in a day – or by one person. Making small efforts will help make our planet healthy and protect the lives of billions of species for centuries to come.