World Beach Day heralds many things.
The beauty of the beach: a shimmering, dazzling diamond-encrusted healing haven. The ecosystem of the beach, a wild frontier of diverse creatures, each performing a role. The reflection of our moon in its tides. A place of pleasure in good times, a place of comfort in bad. A wide expanse of nature.
It is also a place of disaster, pollution, extreme heating, and dying. Last year for my local community it was an algal bloom which resulted in a dire amount of marine casualties; this year it is bird flu threatening our beloved birds and mammals.
It’s hard, sometimes, to carry the grief of our losses at the beach.
But on World Beach Day, I’d like us to remember that ecosystems can heal. Nature is extraordinary in getting on with its exquisite balancing act, if only we can get out of its way.
This can be as simple as taking home your litter, through reducing your regular plastic use, to the big things – being aware of the ways we contribute to pollution and climate change.
Perhaps today, on World Beach Day, we can acknowledge the sacred gift that is the world’s beaches. Perhaps to honour our beaches we can change one habit to reduce our impact on them.
Provide your own keep cup instead of taking a disposable. Say no to plastic bags. Take public transport instead of driving alone in a car. Buy something organic. Weed instead of spraying poison. Write to your local politician saying you care. Vote with your dollar. Plant something somewhere.
And know more about your seafood. Where it comes from, who collects it. If it is farmed or wild. If it is plentiful or on the critical list. Whether it is local or imported.
Little things matter. And our beautiful beaches matter a lot.
Thank you for everything you can do to help.
Joni Page 