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The Dark Side of the Ducky

Happy National Rubber Ducky Day! According to the 1973 Sesame Street calendar, today is the birthday of the famous toy. National Rubber Ducky Day is a chance to reflect on childhood days with a favourite yellow bath toy, but there’s another side to this story about how rubber duckies impact oceans around the world. Did … Continued

Vancouver Becomes Second Official Clean Shoreline Community

The City of Vancouver, in partnership with the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, has become Canada’s second official Clean Shoreline Community. This designation acknowledges the City’s continued commitment to protecting local shorelines, reducing litter, and improving public realm cleanliness in support of its Greenest City goals. Cigarette butts and single-use items such as plastic bags, foam … Continued

International Coastal Cleanup Day Celebrations

On Saturday September 16th, millions of volunteers from all over the world joined together on their shorelines to celebrate the International Coastal Cleanup. This global day of action is the largest volunteer effort to protect our shores, and Canadians definitely showed love for their shorelines. On International Coastal Cleanup day, more than 1,500 volunteers in … Continued

How to Transform Your Park Into a Community

One of the best things about leading a Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is the sense of community that forms, the new connections made and the pride shown for your local neighbourhood. In fact, our national network of shoreline cleanups is formed because of community cleanups, all working together across the country to protect and care … Continued

Shoreline Spotlight: Nicole (Shao Ching) Tseng

We love hearing from Shoreline Cleanup volunteers across the country, especially when those cleanups celebrate local collaborations that bring community members closer together. We caught up with Nicole (Shao Ching) Tseng of the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) and found out about the five cleanups they led over the spring season in Prince Edward … Continued

Shoreline Cleanup Safety 101

Every year, thousands of Canadians volunteer their time to protect our aquatic ecosystems from litter, and in turn, it is important for us to protect the volunteers on the shorelines and make their safety our priority. Before you head out to a shoreline near you, here are some tips to help you plan a successful … Continued

Five Reasons to Clean Every Season

Would you be surprised to hear that when we think of Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanups we think of a sunny spring day, a warm summer breeze, leaves changing colours, and snowflakes gently falling on the ground? That’s because when it comes to shoreline litter, we believe every season is the perfect season to clean it … Continued

The Return of the Unusual Item

Each year volunteers never fail to surprise us with what they find on their local shoreline. Our cleanups in 2016 revealed some pretty strange litter items, but an unusual item found two years in a row? What are the odds? Volunteers of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup return year after year to help clean their … Continued

Celebrating Shoreline Leadership

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup team is incredibly grateful and proud to celebrate a record number of volunteers last year, with participation from well over 76,000 people of all ages and backgrounds. This milestone could not have been achieved without the help of our amazing site coordinators who organized and motivated teams in every province … Continued

Five Things I Learned in Japan About Shoreline Litter

Shoreline litter is a huge, global, and overwhelming problem. Working towards solving this issue involves having serious discussions and collaborating with people from around the world in order to come up with large scale solutions. Two years ago I was invited to Japan by JEAN for a week-long event about marine debris left behind after … Continued

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Ocean Wise is based in the traditional and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We work across Turtle Island and beyond, supporting Indigenous peoples in their vital work on ocean conservation and biodiversity whenever possible or as we are invited to.