The Docker Project, the open platform for distributed applications, today announced it will be organizing an open-source-a-thon where Docker core team members will teach and mentor people in how to contribute to open source. Contributions include code, documentation, tutorials, videos, and mentoring. Each contribution to the Docker Project will also support the Oceanic Society and its mission to conserve oceans. The program is timed to coincide with the project’s second birthday and is focused on a cause – ocean and marine life health – that is important to its millions of users. Docker’s logo, Moby Dock, is a blue whale that was contributed and selected by its community. The charitable program starts on March 23 and will span a total of five weeks; part of the proceeds will go towards the adoption and naming of a female blue whale soon to be known as “Molly Dock.”

“We are thrilled to partner with the Docker community on this novel open-source-a-thon,” said Roderic Mast, president and CEO of the Oceanic Society. “Docker’s commitment to ocean health is admirable, and the program brilliantly brings the power of open source technology to bear in helping conserve the oceans and helping at-risk whale populations.”

The Oceanic Society endeavors to create a more oceanic society by engaging people through whale-watching and international eco-tourism, as well as marine mammal research and field programs designed to empower coastal communities to protect their marine resources. Oceanic Society has created life-changing experiences in nature for tens of thousands of people since 1969, and has contributed to ocean conservation globally. The Docker open-source-a-thon will be focused on fundraising for two of their major programs:

1) “Blue Habits,” a program recently launched by Oceanic Society in partnership with Stanford University behavioral scientists to determine best practices for motivating lasting pro-ocean behaviors. Blue Habits seeks to convert environmental awareness into conservation action on a broad scale, beginning with Oceanic Society’s Bay Area whale-watching community.

2) Oceanic Society’s Blackbird Caye Field Station in Belize, where marine mammal and coral reef experts from around the world are helping to monitor and understand dolphins, manatees, and other keystone species to help protect the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve that lies at the heart of the Mesoamerican reef biome – the most significant coral reef and coastal complex in the Americas.

Docker and the Oceanic Society will be providing further education on the risks faced by marine wildlife, including the threat of container ships to the whale population, at events surrounding Docker’s second birthday starting the week of March 15. These events and activities will celebrate and acknowledge the unparalleled achievements of the Docker community which has forged one of the fastest growing open source projects ever in under 24 months, including 770+ contributors creating software for millions of users that have done over 200 million container downloads and created nearly 100 thousand Dockerized applications.

The first week of the open-source-a-thon will include direct global outreach from Docker’s core maintainers to provide hands-on tutorials for showing developers how to contribute most effectively. These events will be done in conjunction with the Go community – Docker is the most popular open source project written in Go – and will be done in nearly 20 cities, with an online component as well.

Contributions from the opening week of the program and follow-on contributions over the subsequent four weeks will be calculated and the final donation will be made. One contribution equates to a $50 donation, and an additional $50 will be added to the “Molly Dock fund” for those that wish to continue to contribute.

“Moby Dock is a widely recognized symbol for the open source project – with a presence on t-shirts and laptops across the globe – it is only fitting to see the community support the Oceanic Society and its programs to fight whale endangerment and more broadly protect the oceans,” said Steve Francia, chief of operations of the Docker Project. “We are excited to be working with our contributors, old and new, to shine a light on this great organization and their efforts. We are thrilled to have the open-source-a-thon provide another amazing opportunity for the Docker ecosystem to work together for a great cause.”

If you are interested in participating in the open-source-a-thon, please visit docker.party for more details and to register.