MERR celebrates World Ocean Day
The Marine Education Research and Rehabilitation Institute celebrated World Ocean Day June 8, with family-friendly games and educational activities at its facilities on Pilottown Road.
The event was part of the 21st year of the global World Ocean Day initiative, which aims to raise awareness about the ocean and how to protect its plants and creatures. It was the first time MERR had held it since before the pandemic. All activities were free and open to the public.
“We especially like to bring children in so that we can plant that seed of interest and caring and give them opportunities to learn about little things they can do and empower them to make oceans healthier,” Suzanne Thurman, founder and executive director of MERR.
The celebration began at 8 a.m. with a beach cleanup at Beach Plum Island. The trash collectors met at MERR’s facilities before heading to the beach to receive instructions, gloves and trash bags. The team collected 21 pounds of trash off the beach.
The collectors were welcomed back at the facilities with various activities that lasted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. MERR set up tents and educational exhibits where children made paper turtles, colored dolphins, had their faces painted, learned about saving sea animals and participated in other projects.
At 1 p.m., MERR screened “Saving the Right Whale,” a film presented by Marcus Reamer, a whale and dolphin conservation expert and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Miami. The film was followed by an audience discussion with Reamer, Thurman and Sarah Wilkin, a national stranding and emergency response coordinator from NOAA.
Thurman recommends making smart consumer choices to reduce carbon footprint. She advises purchasing items like reusable straws and bags and locally sourced goods that do not require much transportation. The overarching goal is for consumers to use the least amount of plastic possible.
“It’s about getting away from plastic as much as possible because it’s so toxic to the marine environment,” Thurman said. “It’s in all of our systems; it’s in their systems.”
World Oceans Day serves as a reminder to keep the beaches clean, which can be accomplished one day and one person at a time, Thurman said.
“Just anytime anyone’s on the beach, if they can see a little bit of trash and pick it up and get it out of that ecosystem, it really does make a difference,” Thurman said.
