By Magill Smith
Green Alliance Writer
HAMPTON BEACH- In celebration of our beautiful home along the seacoast, Blue Ocean Society is launching their first formal event for World Oceans Day. World Oceans Day began in 2002 and is a growing event that honors the marine environment. To celebrate this event, Blue Ocean Society has a weekend filled with beach clean ups and an award ceremony recognizing groups and individuals who have made efforts to protect the ocean.
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As a advocate for the environment and a Green Alliance Business Partner, Blue Ocean Society works to protect our seacoast waters through research and public action. The Green Alliance is an organization that connects green-minded consumers with businesses that work to lessen their impact on the environment. One of the ways in which Blue Ocean Society involves the public in their efforts, is through organized beach clean ups. To recognize World Oceans Day, the society is hosting the Aquarion Water Company Environmental Champion Awards followed by a clean up of Hampton Beach on June 7.
Abby Gronberg, the Volunteer Coordinator for Blue Ocean Society, says they are looking forward to celebrating, “Blue Ocean Society is very excited to celebrate this international day recognizing the importance of our oceans. We hope that everyone will not only come out and help clean Hampton Beach, but that they will also stay to enjoy all their hard work afterwards.”
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This is the very first year in which the Aquarian Water Company has presented awards for efforts in the state of New Hampshire. Aquarian awards individuals, non-profits and companies who have shown great efforts to improve the environment and water quality. The award ceremony will take place at the Seashell Complex in Hampton Beach, located near the Blue Ocean Society’s Discovery Center. The society is happy to announce that honored guest, Senator Nancy Stiles will help present the awards.
Following the award ceremony, guests and the public are encouraged to participate in a beach cleanup on the shore right behind the Seashell Complex. This is the first cleanup to the kick-off to World Oceans Day and Blue Ocean Society is asking for your support in keeping the shorelines of New Hampshire clean. Before the cleaning begins, the Blue Ocean Society will speak to all the volunteers on how to properly execute a successful beach clean up.
The celebration continues on Monday, June 9, with a larger beach clean up organized by students from Winnacunnet High School. The student council formed a group of volunteers from the sophomore class to support the Blue Ocean Society and do a large scale clean up of the Hampton shoreline. Gronberg reports that they expect around 170 participants for this event.
“It’s very admirable that the Winnacunnet Student Council has organized almost the entire sophomore class to come and give back to the community by participating in a clean up of all of Hampton Beach,” said Gronberg. “We are looking forward to working with them.”
With such a limited amount of New Hampshire coastline, Blue Ocean Society is doing their part to preserve the region’s unique, natural attractions.
Find out more about Blue Ocean Society, visit http://www.blueoceansociety.org/
To learn more about the Green Alliance, visit www.greenalliance.biz
