National Estuaries Day is an annual celebration of the vibrant coastal areas where rivers meet the sea- estuaries. Celebrated on the last Saturday in September, National Estuaries Day is a great opportunity to learn more about these magical ecosystems and how you can help to protect them. Whether you live close enough to visit your local estuary, or you virtually transport yourself to an estuary anywhere in the world via the Internet; take some time on September 27th, or any day of the year, to explore these amazing places.

More on National Estuaries Day…
Like a tide of awareness about the state our estuaries, National Estuaries Day rolls in every last Saturday on the month of September. National Estuaries Day will be celebrated September 27, 2008.

• National Estuaries Day was established in 1988 as part of Coast Weeks, this annual event is the inspiration for all of those who love and care for our nation’s estuaries.
• The purpose of National Estuaries Day is to promote the importance of estuaries and the need to protect them.
• It is also the occasion for a public-awareness campaign to inform people from coast to coast about their connection to these beautiful places and how they can encourage its healthy future.
• Countless National Estuaries Day activities occur nationwide, from photography contests in Florida, canoe trips in Washington, estuary clean-ups in North Carolina, exhibits at state capitals, guided estuary tours in Texas, to festivals in California.
• Help spread the word that estuaries are vital to migratory species; provide critical habitat for a variety of marine plants and animals; help prevent coastal erosion; are important recreational and tourist destinations; and that estuaries are critical for our future and the health of the oceans.

How can celebrating National Estuaries Day help protect our estuaries and the health of the ocean?

Most people are simply unaware of how much they depend on estuaries and how much their actions can have an effect in other places that might not seem to be so close to home. You might think that your home, school or office is thousands of miles away from the nearest coast, but what each of us does affects an estuary and even people’s health. This connection is due, in part, from the flow of water seaward through systems of rivers, lakes, and wetlands, called watersheds. Much of the air we breathe and water we drink, in turn, come to us on atmospheric currents from oxygen produced by ocean plants and moisture evaporated from the sea.

By joining with people all over the world in celebrating National Estuaries Day you can help others understand that no matter where we live we are connected and we all share one world ocean, with our fate inextricably tied to the future health of our estuaries and ocean.

National Estuaries Day 2008 is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these wonderful places called estuaries. Be creative! Take initiative and organize an event or involve others to do something positive that will help protect our estuaries.