Sacred Possessions

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The name is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, the day in 1865, when General Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the Civil War. Juneteenth officially became a U.S. federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

“You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there is new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We The People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.” –President Obama, 2015

Following decades of decline, recent satellite data reveal a turning point since 2010. Global mangrove areas have shown a net increase, even though up to 50% remain at risk of collapse by 2050.

Ocean Week is a global movement and annual celebration dedicated to protecting, restoring, and celebrating the world's oceans—centered around the United Nations World Oceans Day and the Wet Tribe® anniversary on June 8th—featuring awareness, restorations, ocean and beach cleanups.

We are surfers, sailors, divers, scientists, and activists on a hero’s journey to recover ocean plastic, restore habitat, and mitigate ocean warming & acidification. “We are not strangers separated by countries; we are a tribe connected by ocean.”

Sea turtle nesting season generally occurs between March and November, with peak activity between May and October. Female turtles come ashore to lay eggs, so keep beachfront lights off throughout the night.

Light pollution, or Artificial Light at Night (ALAN), is a critical threat to sea turtles, with 98% of nesting areas in the U.S. impacted.

Bright, misdirected coastal lights confuse nesting females and cause hatchlings to move inland toward roads and danger rather than toward the ocean's natural horizon. Protecting them requires reducing, shielding, and lowering lights.

Tonight over 350 million birds are expected to migrate North across the United States. Help keep them safe by turning off all non-essential lighting tonight from 11 PM until 6 AM during migration. Turn off or dim interior home lighting or close the blinds. Bright lights can be disorienting to nocturnally migrating birds which causes them to crash. Each year, up to a billion birds are lost to colliding with buildings and windows.

“We are not strangers separated by countries; we are a tribe connected by ocean.” Water covers two-thirds of the Earth, which should have rightfully been named ‘Ocean.’

Today is Earth Day! An annual global event observed on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Since its inception in 1970, it has grown into the world's largest secular observance, engaging more than 1 billion people in 192 countries annually.

We were recognized as one of the NRDC's top fans! 🎉

We were recognized as one of National Geographic's top fans! 🎉