Sea•thos Foundation

World Wetlands Day (WWD) marks the date when the Iranian city of Ramsar adopted the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971. WWD has been celebrated each year on February 2 since 1997.

 The Ramsar secretariat provides materials to all interested groups including government agencies, conservation organizations, non-governmental organizations, and groups of citizens in order to celebrate and promote awareness of the importance of wetlands.

WWD activities include lectures and seminars, nature walks, community clean up days, children’s art contests, radio and television interviews, the launch of new wetland policies, and much more.

What is a wetland?
A wetland is an area of land that is covered or touched by water either permanently or seasonally. Examples of wetlands are bogs, marshes, and swamps.

The Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as “…areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.”

There are two types of Wetlands: Coastal (Tidal) and Inland (Non-tidal)
-Tidal wetlands are found near our coasts. plants are unlikely to grow in tidal wetlands due to the mixing of fresh water with salt water in nearby estuaries.
-Non-tidal wetlands are found inland next to rivers, lakes, ponds and streams. Non-tidal wetlands have fresh water and are therefore ideal habitat for plants to grow healthily such as brush-filled marshes and wooded swamps.

Why are Wetlands Important?
Wetlands benefit people and ecosystems by providing  ecosysem services  such as flood control, ground water replenishment, shoreline and storm protection, water purification, climate change regulation, wetland products, biodiversity, and cultural values.

Sustainable Tourism
The theme of this year’s WWD is sustainable tourism which is also the theme of Ramsar Convention’s next meeting with the Conference of the Parties, COP11: Wetlands, Tourism and Recreation in June 2012.

Sustainable tourism encourages people to enjoy natural beauty while protecting the enviornment through conservation and respect of biodiversity and culture.

To achieve sustainable tourism, Ramsar is working closely with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), an agency within the United Nations. Thanks to this partnership, tourism is now reported in 35% of Ramsar sites (wetlands that are listed under the Ramsar convention) which includes wetlands in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceana and the Neurotropics.

In previous years, the Ramasar has focused on such themes as “Wetlands and Forests,” “Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People”, and ”Caring for Wetlands- An Answer to Climate Change”- these themes focus on the health and wellbeing of wetlands and the communities that depend on them.

Fun Fact: Wetlands are found on every continent except Antarctica

Who knew that wetlands are so crucial to the wellbeing of you, me, and the entire planet?! Happy World Wetlands Day!

For more information and materials visit ramsar.org

For the past 18 months 89-year-old Wilma Groh and her group, Wil-Mat Project, have made dozens of mats made entirely out of plastic bags for the homeless! Groh was named “Greatest Person of the Day” by Huffington Post on January 9 for this incredible project. 

The project began as a simple way to help the homeless sleep more comfortably on the streets but the group soon realized that they are helping to keep plastic bags out of landfills (and the ocean too)!

Wil-Mat Project, which has grown to include 12 members, literally weaves plastic together to create these unique mats. The process begins by cutting plastic bags into 1-2 inch loops or rings, tying the pieces together end to end, rolling the plastic pieces into a ball of “plarn” (plastic yarn), and weaving exactly the same way as with yarn.

The mat is the size of a yoga mat, about 3 feet wide and six feet long, each using about 400 bags worth of plarn. 

As demand has grown for the plastic mat, the group has expanded their creations to include purses, tote bags, coasters, ornaments, flowers, and much more all made out of plastic bags! 

The group has sold $1,000 worth of items and all proceeds fund Storefront, a youth service which aims to get teens off the streets.

Wil-Mat Project is not worried about running out of plastic bags any time soon: not only are plastic bags distributed abundantly, but the group’s local church kindly collects bags for them and they still have 20,000 bags waiting to be turned into mats! 

Rather than supply, Groh has said that the group’s greatest need is volunteers to help. Those interested in helping out need not know how to crochet or weave, says Groh, there are plenty of tasks other than weaving that go into creating the mats.

At 89, Groh struggles with arthritis in her hands and near-blindness but these conditions have not stopped her from taking her project further and helping those in need.

Wilma Groh and the Wil-Mat Project are truly inspirational: With a little creativity, something as simple as making mats out of plastic bags can impact people and the planet in a BIG way.

Visit the Wil-Mat project Facebook page to learn more about the group and how you can help!

Source: MountHelixPatch Photos by: Eric Yates

1. Buy Less Bottled Water
Plastic has spread all over the globe and marine pollution is now 60 to 80% plastic! Bottled water comprises a large portion of all plastic produced and consumed.  In 2012, reduce plastic consumption by purchasing resuseable water bottles and other food and beverage containers. 

Recycling tips: Help the recycling process by de-caping bottles prior to recycling so bottle caps won’t get stuck in the machines that melt plastic. Also, make sure to cut plastic rings before throwing them out so that animals won’t get caught in them!

2. Use Reuseable Shopping Bags
Americans use 1 billion shopping bags every year and only 1-2% are recycled. Sunlight breaks down plastics to smaller pieces that contaminate soil and water. Bring your own bags to grocery stores, the mall, and anywhere you shop!

You can also re-use old plastic bags that you have accumulated from previous shopping trips. Several reuseable bags can prevent up to 700 bags from ending up in the ocean or in a landfill. Take our plastic bag ban pledge, here
Check out our reuseable water bottles and totes!

3.  Eat Sustainable Seafood
Seafood is in limited supply due to over fishing: 75% of the world’s fish stocks are fished faster than they can reproduce and 80% of the world’s fish are fully exploited or in decline.

We can help by eating sustainable seafood: Seafood is considered sustainable when it is caught by a fishery that does not overfish and catches only enough fish to meet present needs.

A sustainable fishery also uses fishing techniques that do not harm the marine environment. Download our Sustainable Seafood and Sustainable Sushi Seafood  guides!

4. Drive less
Air pollution contributes to water pollution which contaminates our drinking water and destroys marine habitat. You can help the planet and your own health by walking, biking, or skateboardng to get around. Take a break from your car and carpool or use public transportation… be creative with the kinds of transportation you use!

5. Clean the Beach!
Participate in beach clean-ups, pick up trash off the street, and don’t litter!! Everything that does not make it to a landfill ends up in the ocean. Marine pollution kills marine life and releases toxins that end up in our food! YUCK!

Sustainable Seafood Month is coming to an end but we hope that doesn’t stop you from eating sustainable seafood! There are many sustainable choices, some farmed others wild-caught, but what is fish farming and why are some choices better than others? To help us understand where our fish is coming from, here is a quick overview of fish farming:

Fish farming is the raising of fish in an enclosure such as a tank, for the purpose of selling fish on a large industrial scale. Fish farms can be on land while others are built over bodies of water such as off the ocean shore. Fish can also be raised in a pond or lake. Some fish farms are highly technologically built so that fishermen can control every aspect of the raising process. Fish farming enables fishermen to control the size of their supply and protect it from harmful factors such as predators and bacteria. Through fish farming, fishermen and the fishing industry are able to make a profit much larger than they would receive from traditional fishing.   

It may seem like fish farming is sustainable because it produces large quantities of fish without extracting these fish from the ocean. But fish farms still extract numerous fish species from the ocean inorder to feed their raised fish. Fish farming also has other risks such as fish diseases, so sometimes it is better to choose wild-caught fish. Not all fish farms are bad and many are managed sustainably. Approved fish-farmed seafood can be found on our seafood guide including Catfish (US farmed), Arctic Char, and Rainbow Trout (US farmed) among many other species. You may be wondering why wild-caught fish is a better choice than some farmed fish. Wild-caught fish is sustainable when it was caught by a fishery managed in a way that does not over fish and does not harm the ecosystem. Wild Salmon caught from Alaska is a great example.

Explore our Sustainable Seafood guide for more information… We also have a Sushi Sustainable Seafood guide!

Also, don’t forget to attend Green Festival if you’re going to be in the L.A. area this weekend!

We hope you’ve had a great month and keep eating sustainable seafood!! :)

Here are a few ways that you can keep it clean and green on Halloween:

1. Ditch the plastic costumes

Those cheap store bought costumes are not only tacky and unoriginal but also potentially hazardous to your health! Many of those mass-produced plastic shower-curtainesque pirate, superman, wonder-woman, ninja turtle…etc costumes contain the scariest thing of all:  polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Although PVC is an extremely versatile material it creates and releases toxins that are harmful to our health.

2. Rent or Create your own

There are a few alternatives to those spooky plastic costumes:

A) Get creative and make your own costume! Raid the closet (yours, your friends, your grandma’s…whoever’s)  to find fun and unique items. There are also plenty of affordable costume pieces that can be found at your local thrift store. Keep in mind: you can always cut, sew, and (naturally) dye items in order to create your perfect outfit!

B) Let mother nature help you out! For example head down to the beach collect some shells (and maybe pick up some trash while you’re there) and sew them on to a bikini top as part of a mermaid costume.

C) If you lack the creativity, patience, and/or time to create you own costume you can always rent one!

3. Use toxic-free face and body paint

Obviously you can’t be the hulk without painting your body green or be a cat without drawn on whisker. Just beware not all make-up and body paint is created equal. The same golden rule applies for buying make-up (and body paint) as it does to buying food: the more recognizable and natural the ingredients the less harmful it is to you.

4. Ban the bag. Give the kids a tote.

Although Halloween is a celebration of all things scary such as ghosts and witches there are some VILLAINS that are just too scary to confront. Of course we are talking about PLASTIC BAGS. The impact they are having on the health of our environment and our oceans, in particular, is frightful. Totes or pillowcases are a great alternative to the big bad plastic bag. Plus they are definitely more durable which means the kids can collect more goodies.

5. Decorations: try to keep it clean

Try to limit or completely avoid using decorations that are made of plastic such as those dangling skeletons and poorly made spiders. If these decorations are an absolute must be sure that they are made of recycled material. Furthermore, make sure that they are a one time purchase that can be used every halloween! Considering using straw bales, gourds, pumpkins, and corn husks as colorful and natural alternatives to manufactured decorations.

6. Treat

Replace those processed sweets packed with corn syrup with healthier and more nutritious treats. Some good alternatives include individual wrapped treats such as organic fair trade chocolates or dried fruit, granola bars, and gummies made from real fruit juice. Another idea is to hand out non-edibles such as hair barrettes, crayons, or stickers!

Have fun , be safe and stay green this Halloween

Today, October 24, 2011 is Food Day!

Food Day is a time for all community members to come together and work toward better nutrition, an end to starvation, better access to healthy food, and to achieve all other food reform for the well-being of humanity. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit group, is sponsoring Food Day and is putting on several events.  Everyone is invited to attend or create an event, or participate in your own way by supporting healthy and safe food!

Food Day events aim to accomplish the following goals:

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods

2. Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness                                                                            

3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger                                                    

4.Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms

5.Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids

6.Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

As advocates of sustainable eating and healthy living, Sea•thos supports Food Day and encourages everyone to make healthy food choices!

To learn more about how you can participate and create your own event, visit Food Day