Rose Boardman

The oceans today are facing ever-increasing challenges. While saving the oceans may seem like an impossible task, it is important to raise awareness so the next generation are better equipped to tackle and prevent future problems. This week we interviewed Frances Lang, Executive Director of Ocean Connectors, who aims to address these challenges by educating, inspiring, and connecting underserved youth living in Pacific coastal communities of the U.S. and Mexico.

Hey Frances, tell me about Ocean Connectors and why your work is important for our oceans?

We aim is to use migratory marine life to educate, inspire, and connect underserved youth with the environment. I created Ocean Connectors over a decade ago to address pressing community needs related to environmental awareness, coastal access, and outdoor education in San Diego County, California.

While San Diego is widely known as a pristine seaside destination, local schoolchildren routinely face poverty, health issues, and academic obstacles. Ocean Connectors was designed to positively impact these issues, and to address the related lack of coastal access and awareness, which can contribute to environmental degradation.

Several studies have shown the importance of connecting youth with nature. Children who are exposed to nature at a young age are inclined to care more about the environment as adults. In today’s urbanized, digital age, it takes a concerted effort to ensure children are forming this connection, and Ocean Connectors helps make sure this is happening in the coastal communities where we work.

Another factor that makes Ocean Connectors unique is how we use bilingual “knowledge exchanges” to connect youth living 1,300 miles apart across the Pacific Ocean. Children living in San Diego (USA), and Nayarit (Mexico) communicate using artwork, letters, and videos to express their concern for protecting migratory marine life. This peer-to-peer cultural exchange program makes a lasting impact, and encourages children to think globally about environmental issues.

1) Educating youths about important migratory mammals. 2) Encouraging children to connect with the outdoors and nature. Photos: Anna Mar - Ocean Connectors

What are your mission statements?

1. Educate students to increase academic engagement, support classroom learning goals, and motivate at-risk youth to pursue ocean-STEM careers. Ocean Connectors works to improve educational conditions in the areas served through experiential learning, science inquiry, and critical thinking.

2. Inspire environmental stewardship by introducing youth to the tools, knowledge, and awareness to actively practice conservation. The greatest hope for the future lies in giving children the capacity to make environmentally-conscious decisions.

3. Connect underserved youth with the ocean and provide access to diverse, hands-on learning opportunities in coastal environments. Ocean Connectors breaks down barriers, enabling students to experience rare and inspiring coastal adventures in their own “backyard”, the Pacific Ocean.

Can you tell us about your current projects & programs?

Public school children are engaged in the Ocean Connectors program from grade 4 to grade 7. This allows us to build strong relationships with our students and to provide them with continuous access to environmental learning opportunities.

Throughout each grade, the Ocean Connectors program focuses on different migratory marine species as a way to teach students about various conservation issues and solutions. Sea turtles, whales, birds, and sharks serve as vehicles for effectively capturing the attention of our audience and teaching them a wide variety of environmental lessons. Each year, our students receive a different coastal field trip, including visits to aquariums, wildlife refuges, whale watching excursions, and habitat restoration outings.

Ocean Connectors also helps participating schools achieve their learning goals; our curricula are aligned with California Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, which helps ensure our programs have academic value in addition to creating stewardship.

Ocean Connectors offer eco-tours and other public outreach schemes, how important are these programs?

Ocean Connectors eco-tours serve our foundational mission of educating, inspiring, and connecting people with the Pacific coastal environment. Eco-tours are personalized coastal tours that provide guests with a unique visit to the San Diego Bay, where they can participate in kayaking, biking, or whale watching with an experienced Ocean Connectors tour guide.

Eco-tours are open to groups of all ages on an affordable fee-for-service basis, which serves the important purpose of generating revenue to support our free programs for underserved youth. 10% of eco-tour proceeds go directly back into supporting our youth programs, so whenever someone participates in an eco-tour, they’re helping to make inspirational outdoor experiences possible for local schoolchildren.

Eco-tours are a great fit for employee team-building days, families, and tourists who are looking to see the “wild” side of San Diego while also giving back to the community.

What ways can the public help Ocean Connectors?

The public can help Ocean Connectors in many ways. You can sign up for an Eco Tour on our website, which gives back to our youth programs with every ticket purchased. You can also give a donation here. As we are still a small organization, every contribution makes a meaningful impact and is sincerely appreciated by our team.

Another easy way to support our work is simply to join our network by following @OceanConnectors on social media or by signing up for our email newsletter The Ocean Connection, which you can do right from our website. We are also looking for volunteers who can donate their time to helping us with in-office duties and youth mentorship and instruction. To learn more about our volunteer needs, please contact info@oceanconnectors.org

Lastly, what do you hope the future will bring for Ocean Connectors?

This is an exciting time for Ocean Connectors. We are expanding in many ways, through tripling the number of eco-tours we offer each year, adding a new third grade curriculum focused on providing students with an introduction to coastal ecosystems, and expanding our team in San Diego and Nayarit, Mexico.

We are also seeking new community partners to join us in our mission of Connecting Youth for Conservation. We have an amazing network of partners (check them out on our website), and we are always looking for new individuals, companies, and organizations that believe in giving back to the community.

If you’ve enjoyed this interview with Frances, you can follow Ocean Connectors here @oceanconnectors or check out their website.

WANT TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR US? CHECK OUT OUR ‘GET INVOLVED’ SECTION

Blue Missions showcases the work of marine organisations dedicated to protecting our oceans

If you’ve enjoyed reading this article/interview, look out for more Blue Missions blogs from Rose and follow her here @oceandreaming94 // @roseboardman4