Ocean Connectors: Connecting Youth for Conservation

The goal of this capstone project is to develop new materials that support the long-term growth, effectiveness, and sustainability of the Ocean Connectors program. The capstone includes implementing a “sister city” model, redesigning the classroom presentations, creating promotional brochures, new resources for teachers, and producing a five year vision plan. Ocean Connectors is an existing nonprofit program that uses migratory marine life including sea turtles (grade four), whales (grade five), and seabirds (grade six) as tools to educate and connect youth in underserved communities on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and Mexico. The materials developed through this capstone project fuse conservation psychology with proven educational techniques to teach coastal conservationmore effectively. Participants come from similar coastal environments that rely on the ocean for their community livelihood, economy, and culture, yet they lack awareness of the threats facing ocean health. The bilingual curriculum of the Ocean Connectors program meets California Common Core learning standards, as well as national learning standards for the U.S. and Mexico, using classroom presentations, journaling, field trips, and knowledge exchanges. As a result of this capstone project, Ocean Connectors now integrates influential communication styles and conservation‐behavior psychology into existing lessons to more thoroughly engage the student audience in marine conservation in the long‐term. New activities, materials, and teacher resources were also developed to promote sustainability and foster a future generation of dedicated environmental stewards