Paradise Flag by Ian Hutton and Selva Ozelli for Havre de Grace Maritime Museum

World Wetlands Day 2026 will be observed on Monday, February 2, 2026 at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum with the Paradise Flag CCL by Ian Hutton & Selva Ozelli. Theme The official theme for 2026 is "Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage". This theme highlights the deep-rooted connection between wetlands and the cultural practices, traditions, and indigenous knowledge systems of communities worldwide. It aims to spotlight the role of traditional knowledge in sustaining wetland ecosystems and preserving cultural identity. Lord Howe Island's wetlands include crucial seagrass beds in North Bay for turtles and fish nurseries, lowland swamp forests with endemic plants like Sallywood, and unique mossy cloud forests on peaks, alongside extensive marine wetlands like the world's southernmost coral reefs, all contributing to its rich biodiversity and World Heritage status. These ecosystems, from subtropical swamps to marine habitats, host many endemic species, highlighting their global significance. Havre de Grace is actively restoring its wetlands and shorelines where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay through innovative "living shoreline" projects, creating habitats, filtering stormwater, and improving water quality using native plants, dunes, and filtration systems, transforming former bulkheads into vital ecological zones for birds, fish, and turtles. These efforts, including the Water Street Living Shoreline, are part of a larger regional push for green infrastructure to combat erosion and pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. https://havredegracemd.gov/departments/planning-and-zoning/chesapeake-bay-critical-area/ Article: https://www.trvst.world/environment/restoring-wetlands-through-the-lens-of-cultural-heritage/ Interview: https://www.trvst.world/climate-change/interview-dr-dorothy-peteet/