Mission Blue Launches Founder’s Day on August 30

On August 30, Mission Blue will celebrate its first Founder’s Day, a new tradition recognising Dr. Sylvia Earle’s birthday and the spirit that has always powered Mission Blue’s work: people coming together to protect the ocean.

Sylvia’s life and leadership have inspired generations to see the ocean differently and to take action. But Mission Blue has never been about one person. It is about what happens when inspiration spreads.

A Hope Spot Champion rallies a community around a place they love. A scientist shares what they have learned. A teacher brings the ocean into the classroom. A donor funds conservation and restoration projects. A friend tells another friend why the ocean matters to them.

That is the idea behind Founder’s Day: building a global community of people who care, connect, and act.

A new tradition rooted in action

Sylvia has often said that when people know, they care, and when they care, they act. Mission Blue’s global network of Hope Spots is built on that same idea.

Hope Spots are special places critical to ocean health, but their strength comes from the people behind them. Around the world, communities are protecting the waters they know and love, sharing knowledge, building connections, and inspiring others to join them.

Founder’s Day carries that spirit forward by inviting everyone to activate their own network. Family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, and classmates can all become part of the movement for ocean protection.

How you can take part

There are many ways to participate in Founder’s Day. You can make a gift to support Mission Blue and the global network of Hope Spots, start your own Founder’s Day fundraiser, share Mission Blue’s work with someone new, or speak up for a Hope Spot or another special place you love.

What matters is using the power you have to make a difference.

Every conversation can introduce someone new to the ocean. Every connection can strengthen a community. Every gift can support people working to protect special places around the world.

Inspired by Sylvia. Powered by you.

Founder’s Day may fall on Sylvia’s birthday, but its purpose is bigger than one person. It is about what one person can inspire in others, and what becomes possible when those people act together.

Because protecting the ocean takes all of us.