For very long, the Ocean has been regarded as endless, and
indestructible and could be used to everybody's content. Little has been done to avoid the pollution
of this most important component of the earth. Waste, from plastic garbage bags
until toxic waste has been spilled into the oceans and now, finally, people begin
to realize there is a limit to the ocean's absorbance and the
natural balances shift due to human activities.
We are working on a local level to help stop global deterioration, among others
by organizing under water cleanups. Cleanups are usually done in collaboration with
the St Maarten Pride Foundation, who arrange beach cleanups. Together we try
to clean one area, and give media attention to the effort on special days.
Ocean Care is coordinator of AWARE for the International Coastal Clean-up and the
Dive In To Earth Day
International Cleanup Day, the largest volunteer event of its kind, involves more
than 300,000 volunteers each year, on a Saturday in mid-September. Project AWARE
Foundation (International) organizes the underwater portion of global cleanup activities
in cooperation with the Ocean Conservancy (for countries outside the UK) and The
Marine Conservation Society in the UK. Data collected from The Ocean Conservancy
and The Marine Conservation Society's land cleanups combined with Project AWARE
Foundation's underwater information provide an overall picture of debris issues
for scientists and policymakers.
Dive In To Earth Day is an international Earth Day celebration that promotes the
active conservation of coral reefs, oceans, and aquatic ecosystems, and raises public
awareness of the importance of marine conservation. The vast majority of Earth Day
events take place on land, so in order to ensure that the 70% of the planet covered
by water is not forgotten, the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), Project AWARE Foundation,
and other partners launched Dive In in April 2000. Dive In activities take place
during the month of April, in celebration of Earth Day (April 22).