How You Can Help
Each of us can do our part at home, work or school to protect Canada’s underwater worlds. You don’t need to uproot your life to make a difference. Small changes have a big impact. Here are some of the ways you can help:
Turn the Tide on Pollution
Help turn the tide on marine debris and land-based pollution with these projects from Hinterland Who’s Who (hww.ca):
- Cut solid waste off at its source.
o Participate in a beach or shoreline cleanup in your community.
o Encourage ports and marinas to provide convenient garbage disposal facilities.
o Write a cruise ship company and investigate what it does with its waste at sea.
o Whenever you go boating or visit a shoreline or other wild area, stow your trash instead of leaving it behind.
o Reduce waste by composting and recycling, using recycled products, buying foods in bulk, purchasing products with minimal packaging and bringing your own reusable bags to the supermarket.
o Campaign against the release of helium balloons into the environment, especially near coastal areas. They are a serious threat to marine animals, such as leatherback turtles, that mistake them for prey.
- Turn off the tap on land-based pollution.
o Monitor water quality. Test for pH (acid versus alkaline), nutrients (nitrogen or phosphorus), turbidity (lack of water clarity) and the presence of beneficial macroinvertebrates (aquatic insects, snails, worms and crayfish).
o Use only phosphate-free detergents and eliminate garden fertilizers to reduce the quantity of phosphorus and nitrogen creeping into water bodies.
o Purge pesticides from your schoolyard and create wildlife habitats for amphibians, bugs and birds that control pests naturally.
o Dispose of hazardous wastes, such as old paint, medicine, pharmaceuticals, motor oil and turpentine, at proper disposal sites, rather than dumping them down the drain or into landfills. Organize a community day for collecting toxic materials.
o Remind your community that hazardous wastes should never be dumped into storm drains.
o If your community has no sewage treatment facility, raise public awareness about this absence
Learn More Through Rivers to Oceans Videos
It is estimated that each individual needs 50 litres of water a day: five for drinking, 10 for cooking, 15 for bathing and 20 for sanitation. But one-third of the world’s population is trying to survive with less. In some countries, people have access to only three litres of water per day. Meanwhile, Canadians are using an average of 300 litres of water a day – six times the required level! The amount of drinkable water left on earth is diminishing every day because of global climate change, and because of our growing population even more water will be needed in the future. Moreover, what’s left is being polluted by industry and our own activities. Here’s how you can help.