Get Oceanized! Even with social distancing, you can still be part of the "Oceanic Big Five” which brings together to top five sports users of the ocean to celebrate World Oceans Day, which is every year, on June 8th. These top sports users are Surfers, Sailors, Swimmers, Divers and Paddlers. Since we all use the water, IN, ON and UNDER, we have an IOU for the ocean…. And now it’s time to give back. Get your friends, teams or communities together, and create an ocean clean-up in places that normal beach cleanups might not take you. You, as athletes and users of the ocean, are in the front-lines of ocean protection and can be excellent stewards and ambassadors for the ocean, particularly for those who don’t use it as much as you do. Join us to spread the word, and respect the IOU that you have with the sea. In fact, you can do this any day of the year, not just in June!
If you're motivated, you can also use this program as a fund-raising angle for your club, and our work for ocean protection. This is easy to do via our fundraising page which you can personalize for your own club, group or team. Simply click on the "Fundraise" button and you will be able to create a page with your own team, club or group's look and feel. For funds raised, you would receive 50% for the local NGO or your own group, and Ocean Recovery Alliance, our U.S. and Hong Kong based NGO, would receive the other 50% for our global efforts in reducing plastic pollution. We can also give you content for raising good press in your local community, as being part of the global Oceanic Big Five.
Paddle for the Planet - Victoria Recreation Club, Hong Kong
See the flyers below, and please join--wherever you are--to help clean our ocean on June 8th (or a weekend on either side of the 8th if that works better for your club/team/group). For more details, click here. Follow us on Facebook as well.
"Beach Boys for Change" - Senggigi, Lombok
Also, if you don't have time to do a cleanup, then you can at least help with taking photos of trash hotspots and geotagging that with our Global Alert app/platform, allowing you to "See - Share - Solve" the trash problems near or in our waters. Your photos and information is VERY important in helping stakeholders to better understand where the problem areas are (with trash and plastic), so that they can help to prevent and clean these areas up. You can report trash hotspots on the Global Alert App on either app store, or on the web platform at www.globalalert.org. An introductory video can be seen here.
Global Alert Trash Tracking App
Click Here to print Paddle n Clean-up
Click Here to print Swim n Clean-up
Click Here to print Surf n Clean-up
Click Here to print Sail n Clean-up
Click Here to print Dive n Clean-up
When: A weekend day on either side of June 8th, World Oceans Day (your choice)
Time: Each club or individual can start when they want, but the time period of clean-up should be three hours.
Where: Your local waters (oceans, rivers or lakes)
What: A three hour cleanup, maybe all using the craft/equipment for your sport, but at least getting out to give something back to the ocean. The goal is to pick up any non-organic waste, and then properly dispose of it, hopefully to be recycled. If you can count the volume in terms of number of bags or weight, that is great too.
No Prizes, but Pride…..
Each club, team or group can weigh the total amount of ocean waste that is collected, or report the number of bags brought in. Share the results with us so we can show the world what you did. Individuals can send in their data as well.
Help to raise money for the ocean. See how much you can have donated or pledged for your team. It is suggested that 50% of your donations go to a charity(s) of your choice, and 50% to Ocean Recovery Alliance for our global efforts to slow plastic pollution. Donations can be made via our website or you can contact us for transfer information.
We also would love to have your best photos, strangest piece of trash, best art made from trash, etc.
Send in your information to info@oceanrecov.org and put Oceanic Big Five in the subject heading. We would like to know: 1) number of participants, 2) weight of waste collected, 3) location (city/country), Club Name if any, 4) total amount of donations/pledges raised.
Each club is encouraged to have its own “after-event”. Local prizes can be given for best photo, strangest piece of trash, best art from trash, etc. Please send the winning images to Ocean Recovery Alliance, or put on Facebook and other locations to show your community the good work you did. Go out and get some press! This is a great global event that you should be able to proudly spread the word about in your community.
This is part of a global effort to engage the Oceanic Big Five sports community in a World Oceans Day event. Please spread the word. It is time to give back, In, On and Under.
For more information, email: info@oceanrecov.org