How kids can help protect the oceans

How kids can help protect the oceans

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By Babysits
5 min read

Encourage your child to learn more about the oceans and how we can help protect them with these tips!

The ocean is a vast and vital ecosystem that sustains life on our planet. By promoting a sense of responsibility and stewardship in our children, we can help ensure a healthy and vibrant ocean for generations to come. Before we get started with how you can teach your kids to protect the oceans, let’s get them excited with some interesting facts!

Interesting facts to get kids excited about the ocean

  • The world’s oceans contain an estimated 20 millions tons of gold, with most of it dissolved in seawater.
  • The Great Barrier Reef, located off the coast of Australia, is the largest living structure on Earth, stretching over 2,300 km (1,400 miles).
  • The deepest part of the ocean is the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, which reaches a depth of 10,994 meters (36,070 feet).
  • The ocean’s currents are responsible for regulating the Earth’s climate by distributing heat around the planet.
  • The ocean is home to an estimated one million species, many of which have yet to be discovered.

How to encourage children to protect the oceans

Oceans are a very important part of our earth! Like trees, oceans help humans breathe clean air and keep planet earth in balance. Oceans also provide energy and food to people around the world. Oceans are home to many living creatures, as well as many humans around the world.

It can be easier than you think to encourage your children to learn about the ocean and want to take care of it. We’ve created a list of the many ways we can encourage our children to be more mindful of the human impact on the planet and its oceans.

How to teach kids to help the ocean

Use ocean-friendly products

Teach children to use products that are biodegradable or reusable, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly to help reduce the amount of pollution that enters the ocean.

R

Cook in a sustainable way

The leading cause of plastics in our oceans are fishing nets. Unfortunately, many affordable products are not sourced sustainably, and cause major damage to the oceans. Try visiting your local fish and seafood market with your kids to see if you can source more sustainable options.

sustainable cooking

Learn as much as possible

Encourage children to learn about the marine life that inhabits the ocean and the challenges they face. This will help foster a sense of empathy and encourage children to take action to protect them.

books

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Encourage kids to decrease their consumption of single-use plastics, such as utensils, water bottles and straws. Instead, opt for reusable options or try and recycle whenever possible. Teaching this to children at a young age will help to reduce the amount of single-use plastic which ends up in the ocean damaging animals in the sea.

Bottle

Ocean clean-up

The next time you take a trip to the beach, take a look around and see if you can spot any plastic. This is an easy way to make a difference that kids can also do. Even more, take your kids to ocean clean-up days! These are a great chance for your child to see the impact that humans have on the oceans, and make them feel like they can be part of the solution. If you don’t live by an ocean, parks, neighbourhood and other nature clean-ups are also great options!

Ocean clean up

Conserve water

Encourage children to turn off the faucet while brushing their teeth or take shorter showers to help conserve water and reduce water pollution. Using less water will help to decrease the amount of excess runoff and wastewater that will end up in the ocean.

Conserve water

Spread the word

Encourage children to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about protecting the ocean with their friends, family and community. This will help raise awareness and inspire others to take action to protect the ocean.

Spread the word


Support organisations that help to protect the oceans

Another great way that kids can protect the oceans is to support organisations that protect the oceans. Some of these organisations include:

  1. Oceana: Oceana is an international advocacy organisation dedicated to protecting and resotring the world's oceans.
  2. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society : Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a global non-profit organisation that uses direct action to protect marine wild life and their habitats.
  3. Ocean Conservancy: Ocean Conservancy is a science-based advocacy organisation that works to protect the ocean from the challenges it faces today, including climate change, pollution and overfishing.

We hope that you take inspiration from these tips! Try to impliment some of these actions into your child's daily routine and encourage them to learn more about our oceans and how to protect them.

Looking to take more Climate Action?

We’re a member of Leaders for Climate Action, and they’ve provided quick and easy actions that any individual can take in order to take action for the climate. Check out the actions here!

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