Oceans Day

Oceans provide 97.5 per cent of the Earth's water and cover approximately 70 per cent of its surface.

Oceans Day, which falls on June 8th of every year, was declared in 1992 at the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It raises awareness about the importance of the Earth’s oceans and inspires us to take better care of them. Canadian Rivers Day, celebrated since 2003 on the second Sunday in June, gives Canadians a chance to honour our rivers for the important place they occupy at the heart of our history and natural heritage. Since 2007, Oceans Day and Canadian Rivers Day have been celebrated together during Rivers to Oceans Week, which honours themes central to Canada’s watersheds.

• Oceans Day is the occasion for a splashy public-awareness campaign to inform Canadians from coast to coast about their connection with the ocean and how they can encourage its healthy future.
• Special issues of Canadian Wildlife and Biosphère magazines feature in the campaign.
• Countless Oceans Day activities occur nationwide, including marine-related talks and exhibits, boat cruises, film festivals, art displays, shoreline cleanups, and scuba-diving demonstrations.
• To help spread the word that oceans are vital to migratory species, CWF is promoting the slogan "Water's Worth It"

Explore our Water Education lesson plans >>
Experiment with our Fish and Fisheries lesson plans >>
Visit Rivers to Oceans Week's 2009 Homepage
Download an Oceans Day and Rivers to Oceans Week fact sheet >>
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