In Southwest Nigeria, Akure in Ondo State to be precise, this year’s World Ocean Day was celebrated in grand style again with support by Mundus maris and Aquaworld. This year 2023 marks the third year the two organisations have been collaborating to celebrate the World Ocean Day.

The World Ocean Day Youth Advisor in Nigeria, Favour Ayedun, who succeeded Paul Eweola, former World Ocean Day Youth Advisor from Nigeria, also contributed immensely to the success of the celebration.

This year, the event was celebrated in two phases;

1. Plastic Mop-up Activity Involving Youths and Students
2. Children’s engagement featuring ocean art, plastic craft and eco-talk with the kids.

Plastic Mop up

The Plastic Mop-up was held on the 8th of June at the campus of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA).

The activity started at 9 am at the university car park Obakekere, picking up plastic materials all through the FUTA Secondary School, Old Library, School Clinic, Frontage of FUTA Primary School to Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Farm!

The activity mobilised undergraduates from the university who made outstanding contributions as volunteers to the success of the event.

The volunteers were provided with gloves, nose masks and waste bags.

Under the direction of World Ocean Day Youth Advisors Favour Ayedun the volunteers collected lots of garbage.

They filled altogether 9 bags during the event, each weighing an average of 2.5kg.

That is indeed a substantial quantity, especially considering that the individual weight of plastic items is often low.

Below is the group photo of the most active students with the two coaches setting the entire programme up and seeing it through to its successful conclusion.

Children Engagement

On the 16th of June, the Olufunmilayo Group of Schools in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria engaged their college students to round up the World Ocean Day Celebration.

On this day we had a series of activities:

• Ocean art painting
• Plastic craft making and
• An eco-dialogue with the kids and the WOD youth advisor Favour Ayedun.

These activities enabled the students to enhance their creative ability to make valuable items from used plastic materials, sketch beautiful ocean sceneries and products, and gain more insights into ocean protection.

And, of course, there were some incentives for the pupils which showed greatest commitment in learning more about the sea and how to protect it through artsy works.

Both events were coordinated on site by Paul Eweola, Aquaworld-President, who selflessly assisted Dr. Lydia Adeleke who is currently on the Mujeres for African Foundation Fellowship in Spain.

Conclusion

World Ocean Day is an annual occasion that helps people get acquainted with ocean conservation and protection.

“No one should be left out in taking action to achieve a clean and healthy ocean”, said Paul Eweola.