Our ocean and beaches are central to our lives in Santa Barbara — and according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Report, our ocean is currently “in crisis” due to decreasing oxygen, increasing acidification, warming, pollution, and overfishing. This Saturday, June 8, come celebrate and learn about our ocean during World Oceans Day at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center on Stearns Wharf during a festival from 10 a.m to 3 p.m.
For the event, the center is holding a series of scheduled activities such as storytimes by Toothy the Shark (11 a.m. and 2 p.m.), an art contest (winners announced at 1 p.m.), and the Harbor Patrol Fireboat Display (3 p.m.).
During the festival, guests also have the chance to meet ocean conservation community partners such as Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, California State Parks, UCSB’s Caselle Lab, The Fish Reef Project, Channel Islands Naturalist Corps, Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute, Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area, Channel Islands Restoration, and Celebration Cruises, which will be raffling off a Lil’ Toot trip package at their table.
The Sea Center will also host its everyday features such as life-size models of a gray whale mother and calf, touchpool habitats, a “wet deck” modeled after a scientific research vessel’s lab, and Shark Cove, where visitors can get up close with small local sharks.
“As we come together to celebrate, I’m thrilled to highlight the remarkable efforts in our community to promote stewardship of the Santa Barbara Channel,” said Sea Center Naturalist and Volunteer Program Manager Tessa Cafritz, a co-organizer of the event. “The Sea Center’s goal is to facilitate meaningful connections between everyone who walks through our doors and the unique, vital ecosystems right beneath our feet. From our two-spot octopus to the tiniest sea star, World Oceans Day is a reminder of just how much there is to discover and protect within our oceans!” Admission is free from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. and made possible by the generous support of the UCSB Associated Students Coastal Fund and the Stearns Wharf Merchants Association. After visiting the Sea Center on Stearns Wharf, the Surfrider foundation is urging people to continue to honor the day by taking action by telling federal leaders to stop the rollback of ocean protections, reducing your individual plastic consumption, and wearing blue to support our oceans during World Oceans Day.
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