​
CURRENT EVENTS
Patagonia x Back to the Sea RAFFLE!
We are back with another incredibly exciting raffle fundraiser!!!

This time we partnered up with Patagonia Halifax to giveaway a bundle of goodies from the Back to the Sea Centre and Patagonia 🤩

For just $10/ticket you can win:
Patagonia Guidewater Backpack
Back to the Sea Hoodie
Maritime Marine Life field guide
The Happiness Field Shark Earrings
Crab Ornament
Ocean colouring book
Totalling a $500 value!

Each ticket is $10 and we'll be selling just 100 tickets in total and will draw our winner once all tickets are sold. Click the Register button below to get your tickets while they last! Don't forget to let us know which number you'd like to bet on in the comments!
Once you let us know what number you'd like to bet on we will mark it off for you here. The number board will be updated as tickets are sold.

If you don't pick a number when purchasing we will pick one for you! 
PAST EVENTS
With photo galleries!
Back to the Sea FUNdrive - Ended September 20th
Throughout August and September, we ran a brand new fundraiser in partnership with the FUNdrive program!

Generous community members donated their gently used clothing and household items at the Back to the Sea Centre. Every pound donated went straight towards purchasing our new touch tanks. 

Thanks to everyone who participated!
 Yoga in the Park with Estelle Thomson - Thursday August 24th at 5:30pm

🧘🏾‍♀️ YOGA IN THE PARK! 🧘🏼‍♂️

On Thursday August 24th at 5:30pm, Estelle Thomson joined us at the Back to the Sea Centre to teach a lovely yoga class right by the canal!

We had a great time and beautiful weather. Thanks to all participants who donated to attend and help us purchase our touch tanks!
​​
Brightwood Beer Garden Event - Saturday July 15th, 12PM onwards
Picture
Back to the Sea was at the Brightwood Beer Garden for an afternoon of fun!

You can support Back to the Sea by purchasing a pint of Back to the Sea Hazy Pale Ale. This brew is a loving collaboration between many industry partners, and proceeds on each can and draft sold go to Back to the Sea.

We were glad to SEA so many of our supporters there!
Back to the Sea Centre Soft Opening - Saturday July 8th, 10am

The Back to the Sea Centre will have its soft opening on July 8th!

While we are still waiting to collect our animals and ensure they have proper water conditions in their tanks, we will have many variety of seaweeds to touch and learn about. Our kids corner will also be up and running with activities and specimens for little ones and adults alike to explore. Plus we'll have the start of our new surprise addition to the Centre!

Come visit us the weekend of July 8th and you’ll receive a special discount of $5 off our season passes. Entrance will be by donation.

We hope to sea you here opening day!
First Tidal Trekkers Event of the 2023 Season - Saturday June 17th, 3pm
We had a great time on our explorative walk along Regatta Point Walkway's rocky coast! We saw many different organisms, discussed invasive species, and learned about how different animals have adapted to life in the intertidal zone.


Check out Tidal Trekkers page or contact backtotheseaaquarium@gmail.com for more info  on when our next outings will be!
Oceans Week at Queen's Marque - Saturday June 10th, 2023, 10am
We had a blast at the Queen's Marque for Nova Scotia Underwater Council's Ocean Week Celebration!

Even through the rain and chill, everyone had a great time and we had so many visitors come to us to learn about out local intertidal species!
Oceans and You! at Maritime Museum of the Atlantic - June 2nd, 2023, 10am
We had an amazing time at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic's Oceans and You! event.

It was so fun sparking curiosity in our local intertidal species in so many attendees! We hope it was a fun and educational experience for everyone.
Canadian Network of Ocean Educators Conference - May 27th, 2023, 1pm
We had a great time with the Canadian Network of Ocean Educators for their conference! It was great learning about some of the recent innovations in the Ocean Tech industry.

We also got to help lift the big blue blanket for some of the attendees!
Annual General Meeting - March 23rd, 2023, 7PM
Our Annual General Meeting was held both virtually and in-person at the Clean Foundation. 

We reflected on our 2022 season and celebrated our most successful summer yet! We also welcomed our new Board members and said SEA you later to our retiring members. 

Animal Release Party! - Oct 1st, 2022, 2PM

Picture
We had a whale of a good time releasing our animals from the Touch Tank Hut back to the ocean to complete their lifecycles at sea!

It was a beautiful, sunny day at Black Rock Beach in Point Pleasant Park and we were able to give our animals a FIN-tastic send off!
​
Thank you to everyone who came out and participated, we are so happy our animals made it *back to the sea*! 

​
Back to the Sea Society X Ocean Tracking Network - Aug 24th, 2022, 10AM
Picture


We had a claw-some time with our friends from the Ocean Tracking Network at our combined event at the Touch Tank Hut! Guests we able to meet OTN staff and learn about aquatic animal tracking and the technology behind exciting research projects taking place in Atlantic Canada and beyond.

It was a busy day as we concurrently ran our Discover Diving Program and had a portable touch tank outside of the hut! 
Earth Month Tidal Trekkers & Clean Up - May17th, 2022, 5:30pm
We had a whale of a good time at our Tidal Trekkers & Clean Up event with our friends from Scotian Shores! We discovered lots of animals along the shoreline at Point Pleasant Park, picked up some trash, and fun was had by all participants. A big thanks goes out to our sponsor, Deloitte for making this event possible. 
Annual Shoutout & General Meeting - March 21st, 2022, 6pm

​Join us virtually as we recap all the good times of 2021 and highlight some important donors and sponsors! 


​'Tis the Sea-son Auction - November 12-26th, 2021

We are so grateful for all of the support for this year's auction! Thank you to all the donators and purchasers. Thanks to your support, we were able to raise over $3,000 for ocean education!  Also a special thanks to Roger Hamilton for sponsoring this year's auction. 


​







​




​

 Animal Release Party- Saturday September 25th, 2021
We had a very successful day at Black Rock Beach releasing our animals from the Touch Tank Hut! 
Thank you to everyone who came out and participated (77 total attendees), we are so happy our animals made it *back to the sea*! 
This event is made possible in part thanks to the support of Oceans Week HFX.

​


​MacCormack's Beach Tidal Trekkers - Sunday August 29th, 2021




​We may have been rained out day-of, but The Back to the Sea Society ran a special-edition Tidal Trekkers at MacCormack's Beach on Sunday, August 29th!

​


​Introduction to Nature Illustration - Saturday June 5th, 2021
On Saturday, June 5th, we unleashed our inner artists during two free, one-hour long Introduction to Nature Illustration workshops run by artist Bea Martin!

The first session, Drawing Hermit Crabs, was at 2pm Atlantic time.

The second, Drawing Winter Skates, was at 3pm Atlantic time.

​Thank you to the Canadian Network for Ocean Education (CaNOE) for sponsoring this event. If you'd like to show your appreciation to Back to the Sea for this event, consider gifting us a donation! 
​
A, B, Seas: A Speed-Learning Event! - Thursday May 27th, 2021


​7 speakers, 5 minutes each, infinite ocean fun!

To celebrate the end of our Making Waves fundraiser, we invited you to join our online event, A, B, Seas on Thursday, May 27th, at 8pm AST! 

Curious attendees joined this virtual evening of ocean science talks and learned some fin-tastic ocean science facts! 

​We were so happy to sea you there!


​Presenter list: 

Ruby Banwait - Blue Mind Concept
Kaitlin Burek - Kelp and Algae
Lauren Farley - Sharks
Sonya Lee - Science Communication 
Sarah McComb-Turbitt - Penguins
Leah Robertson - Deep Sea Sponges
Sarah Vokey - Volcanoes
Virtual Annual General Meeting - Monday March 22nd, 2021
Picture
We know there's a lot about 2020 that you may want to forget, but there are also lots of stories of resilience and success that are worth remembering! 

Thank you to all who joined us online at 7pm on Monday March 22nd to recap the best of 2020, and the ways in which Back to the Sea pivoted to continue to offer worthwhile ocean education. As always, we recognized some of our valuable supporters and donors. 

All members of the Society as defined by our Membership Policy are entitled to vote. Unsure if you're a member? Contact us. ​ 
​
Fit-Fish Fundraiser - March 7th, 2021 

​We got fish-ical! 🐟 💪

​Thank you to everybody who participated in our online Zoom fitness class on Sunday, March 7th, run by personal trainer Torrie Borland Fitness. We got our blood pumping for a good cause!

Tickets were available for a minimum donation of $5. 

We're glad we saw you there!

All those making a donation of $20 or more received a charitable tax receipt.
 'Tis the Sea-son Online Auction- November 9-22, 2020  
We were so flippin' excited about the number of claw-some items we have up for grabs in this auction. Thank you to all donators and purchasers. Thanks to your support, we were able to raise over 2000 dollars! 
Sand Dollar Shuffle- July1 - October 31, 2020  
We partnered with our Mini Sister, the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium, to launch a virtual race. The Sand Dollar Shuffle invited you to travel from Dartmouth, NS, all the way to Petty Harbour, NL. Do it by cycling, walking, canoeing - any physical activity counts! 

The reward, other than feeling claw-some about yourself, was a beautiful, environmentally friendly medallion made with locally sourced Canadian wood. 
Dumpster (SCUBA) Dive - September 26, 2020 

​Join Back to the Sea Society for an underwater cleanup event!
Help remove trash from the Atlantic Ocean while SCUBA diving to restore important habitat.

​The meeting location will be at:
Boutiliers Point Wharf, South Shore NS 

Free air fills or 50% off rentals in partnership with Torpedo Rays!

Registration is free!
​
Each participant is asked to fundraise a minimum of $100. We'll help you set up your fundraising page through Canada Helps. Then all that's left is to reach out to your networks!
 
Oceans Week Trivia - Tuesday June 9th, 2020

Picture
Thanks to everyone who attended our Live Trivia for Oceans Week Halifax 2020, and a special thanks to our partner organizations and Ocean Bridge for a grant allowing us to offer prizes.

Catch the trivia replay anytime on our Online Education section, there's a boat-load of fun facts to be learned!



​Ocean Themed Kids Trivia - Wednesday May 13th, 2020

We loved hosting this online ocean trivia with A for Adventure!

Couldn't make it? No worries! Watch the live stream anytime on our Online Education section.

Virtual Annual General Meeting - Monday March 23rd, 2020

We had over 40 people attend our online Annual General Meeting!

All members of the Society are entitled to vote. Unsure if you're a member? Contact us. 

​Goodwill Bot - July 1st, 2019
Bedford Days - June 27th 2019
Touch Tank Hut Season Opening! - June 8th, 2019

​Splash Into Spring Fundraiser! - April 4th, 2019

Halifax International Boat Show - February 9th & February 10th, 2019
We will be running our portable touch tanks from 12-3pm on both Saturday and Sunday with squid dissection demos happening at 1 & 2pm. See more Boat Show details here.
​
The Halifax Boat Show is taking place at the Halifax Exhibition Centre at 200 Prospect Rd.

COVE Open House - November 17th, 2018
The Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship invited us to host a portable touch tank at their upcoming open house. 
Join us from 11am to 2pm. 
​27 Parker Street, Dartmouth

Sustainable Ocean Conference - September 22nd, 2018
The Sustainable Ocean Conference is an amazing Dalhousie student-led conference that we are participating in for the third year in a row. Find us on Saturday from 12-3 with our portable touch tank or come see our booth and get more information from us on Sunday from 11-2 (no touch tanks).

G7 Argyle Street Celebration - September 20th, 2018
We brought portable touch tanks to the Argyle Street Celebration and had a chance to meet one of our inspirations, Dr. Sylvia Earle.  

Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup- September 15th, 2018
We brought along a couple touch tanks to the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup show people the local marine life they are helping when picking up litter. This was a great event put on by WWF-Canada and the Clean Foundation. Thank you to Develop Nova Scotia for sponsoring our touch tank portion of the event.
Bedford Days - June 28th, 2018
We brought our portable touch tanks to Bedford Days! 
Touch Tank Hut Opening Day! - June 2nd 2018
Goodwill Bot - Monday May 21st, 2018
Good Robot Brewing donated $1 of every pint sold and helped raised over $600 for the Back to the Sea Society!

Our team was there between hosting touch tanks and fun games. And we all enjoyed our very own Back to the Sea beer!
Halifax Oyster Festival - September 28th-30th, 2017
You, Me and the Sea - September 23rd 

​For the second year in a row, we were involved in the You, Me, and the Sea program as a part of the 2017 Sustainable Oceans Conference.
B.I.O. Open House - September 23rd & 24th

​The year 2017 marked the 55th anniversary of Canada's largest ocean research centre - the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. In celebration of this milestone, the public was invited to learn about the Institute's various oceanographic research initiatives with an Ocean Science EXPO.

Back to the Sea lead the live animal display! 
Sea Turtle Kiosk - July 15th 


We loved partnering with the Canadian Sea Turtle Network and bringing our portable touch tanks to their waterfront kiosk. 
Oceans Week HFX - June 2nd - 11th
Halifax does more than celebrate World Oceans Day on June 8th, it turns it into a full week of celebration!

We attended two events for the 2017 Oceans Week HFX.The Ocean and You kicked off the week at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and we wrapped everything up at the Discovery Centre for An Ocean of Discovery. 
Goodwill Bot - May 22, 2017
Thank you to Good Robot Brewing for donating $1 of every pint sold that day to the Back to the Sea Society!

Our team had a great time hosting a touch tank and fun games that helped us raise more funds. 

Thank you to our in kind prize donors: Bad Mouth Soaps, Black Market Boutique, Earth Elementals Soap, Freeman's Little New York, Gift Market, Nova Scotia Fisherman, and Off Beet Farm. 
See Change Conference - May 18 - 21, 2017

​Check back soon for an update on our presentation Creating Big Waves with Small Actions happening and a full photo gallery. 
French Ocean Program - March 18, 2017


​Thanks to the families who joined us at the Cole Harbour Public library for a kid friendly program. 

We talked about local ocean critters and showed the kids some dried specimens (sand dollars, urchins and more)! 

Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a viewing of Trouver Doris. 
24th Annual FSRS Conference - February 23rd, 2017

We had a Back to the Sea booth at the 24th Annual Conference of the Fishermen and Scientists Research Society. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to talk to us!

Our founder Magali was also the emcee for this conference, introducing the lineup of wonderful speakers. Dr. Megan Bailey did a wonderful keynote speech, the student poster competition showcased wonderful research and there were many interesting booth displays from NGOs and industry partners. 
​
Fish out of Water Family Fun Day - December 22nd, 2016


We had a great time at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 for their 2nd annual Family Fun Day.

Over 350 people came to the museum for this event! 

We were there with our Touch Tanks and did special presentations in both French and English. The museum also put on other water themed activities for all to enjoy! 
100 Kids Who Care Meeting - December 7th, 2016

On September 28th, we were honoured to accept a donation when the children attending the 100 Kids Who Care meeting chose Back to the Sea Society as their non-profit of choice! 

To say thanks and to let the kids and parents know more about how their money will help, we presented at the December meeting.

​Have a child between the ages of 5 and 14? Join the 100 Kids who Care Halifax! 
Touch Tank Days - August to October 2016
If you've attended one of our Touch Tank Days, please fill out our survey. Your feedback and support will directly contribute to making the Back to the Sea Aquarium a reality. 

You can also rate us on Facebook!
The Touch Tank Days were created as a proof of concept for the proposed Back to the Sea Aquarium and a way for us to begin our ocean education mandate. They were an opportunity for children and families to interact with local marine invertebrates and learn more about our ocean! ​We want to get people talking about the Back to the Sea Aquarium project and about ocean conservation. 

We hosted seven Touch Tanks Days during which we saw over 1500 visitors! 

Thank you to everyone who came out to see us and meet our local marine animals! 
​
See our photo galleries below, or visit our Facebook page for more pictures. 

Thank you to our sponsors!
​​This event series was made possible thanks to the generous support of The Image Salon and Eyes on Optometry Group. 
Photos by the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium

​We would also like to thank Greg and Catherine Sheffer, Scott and Jenna Sheffer, Dalhousie University and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography with special thanks to Paul Fraser. 
Touch Tank Days in Fisherman's Cove
Hope for Wildlife Open House
You, Me and the Sea part of the Sustainabe Oceans Conference
​Ocean Literacy Conference 2016: Ocean Optimism 

​Founder of the Back to the Sea Society, Magali, led a workshop at this conference hosted by the Canadian Network for Ocean Education. Read her article about the conference in the Fishermen and Scientists Research Society's Summer 2016 Newsletter. 
​
Thank you those who participated in the workshop and to Kiley Best for her help!