Education programs include curriculum-based programs from Kindergarten to Grade 12, French language programs, self-directed school visitor material, professional development for teachers, home learner programs, and outreach programs including its AquaVan program - a mobile teaching vehicle. Research to help understand and, ultimately, protect aquatic life is conducted in the wild, in laboratories and through its marine mammal research programs. Direct action programs include two national programs, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup and Ocean Wise, a program created to educate consumers to help protect seafood stocks for generations to come. Our volunteer program is very important to the fulfillment of these initiatives. In 2017, over 1,300 volunteers contributed over 100,000 hours to the organization, and see nearly one million visitors annually. Coastal Ocean Research Institute (CORI) encompasses the ocean research programs at the Vancouver Aquarium, in particular, to focus efforts in collecting, analyzing, and communitcating the data in regards to describing the health of coastal ecosystems. The Ocean Pollution Research program will conduct international-caliber scientific research on ocean pollution. Its focus will be on the sources and consequences of ocean pollution, and on identifying practical solutions.