ConnectOcean Conservation and Outreach is a NGO( 501c3) operating from Costa Rica. We believe that the ocean is for everyone. Connecting communities to the ocean and fostering ocean stewardship is what we do. From teaching people to swim, to inspiring the next generation of change makers, our programs and activities are designed to empower a global community of explorers. Our STEM-inspired, place-based education programs are anchored with strongly perpetuated citizen science and marine ecology themes. We focus on creating hands-on activities to connect communities to the ocean, to help them understand it better, and learn how to work together in order to conserve and protect our amazing ecosystem.
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ConnectOcean Explorer : A Place-Based Ocean Literacy Experience:
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The Explorer program marine ecosystem curriculum is designed as a hands-on, community service learning experience. The educational programs combine ocean stewardship and literacy with STEM education initiatives This combination provides opportunities for the participants to collaborate and connect with researchers, conservationists, and explorers who are experts in their field. Within this foundation of service, collaboration, and connection, the Explorer program utilises passionate mentors in STEM to provide exploration opportunities through environmental education, research, and data collection.
This turnkey STEM program is designed to supplement an already established STEM curriculum. The Explorers program is ideal to implement as a school elective or extracurricular program led by PADI members, PADI dive centres, and/or local guides.
As a Regenerative Tourism Initiative, local guides who are based in communities in one of the five Marine Ecosystems are able to go through the Explorers program certification process. After certification, they will be able to offer “Discover Citizen Science Experiences to visiting tourists.
The ConnectOcean Explorer Program supports the United Nations’ strategy for Ocean Literacy For All: a global strategy designed to raise awareness about conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of our oceans.
The goals of this initiative are to:
Encourage cooperation and exchange on ocean education to improve ocean literacy;
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Raise awareness of the two-way interactions between the ocean and peoples’ daily lives, and empower citizens to adjust their everyday behaviour; and
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Seek and apply innovative ways in order to make our current and future citizens ocean-literate, so that they recognize environmental challenges and can make informed and responsible decisions related to ocean stewardship and the use of ocean resources.
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In partnership with UCI, create a Regenerative Tourism Certification program for local guides to offer “ Discover Citizen Science” experiences in their local communities and ecosystems, creating a symbiosis of sustainable income and conservation stewardship.
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These ConnectOcean Explorer Programs can also be embedded with a PADI Dive certification allowing participants to earn a PADI Open Water or Continued Education certification in tandem while participating in the Explorer Program.
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How does the Explorer Program work?
The ConnectOcean Explorer follows the 3 pillars of the ConnectOcean philosophy (Discover, Connect, Protect)
RECONNECTING TO PLACE
DISCOVER
CONNECT
PROTECT
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"In the end we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught."
BABA DIOUM, SENGALESE
ENVIRONMENTALIST
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ConnectOcean has developed a Citizen Science curriculum covering 4 Marine Ecosystems, a watershed ecosystem and an AWARE Manta Conservation Speciality.
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Source to Sea Explorer
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Intertidal Explorer
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Mangrove Explorer
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Reef Explorer
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Open Ocean Explorer
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AWARE Manta Conservation Specialty
The Curriculum uses place based education techniques which requires hands-on learning. The course can be taught on site in the respective ecosystems without having to be in a classroom setting. The courses are designed to teach participants the value and importance of each of the related ecosystems and engage participants in research through citizen science data collection.
The Explorer Programs could be run as a “ Discover Experience” or as a Specialty Certification when taught through a ConnectOcean Citizen Science sanctioned training facility or PADI Dive centre that has completed the Citizen Science Explorer Orientation.
Each Distinctive Specialty can be a stand-alone program with a corresponding Adaptive E-learning section that is being developed by Area9 Lyceum .
The Adaptive learning is personalised and high impact and will cover the basic understanding of each ecosystem and the connection between communities and the Ocean, whilst integrating the UN’s 7 Ocean Literacy Principles. It is generic enough to be applied to any of the listed ecosystems worldwide.
It will be used as a prerequisite introduction to an ecosystem for a tourist planning to visit an area before exploring the ecosystems with a local certified ConnectOcean guide. Participants wanting to complete the full certification program, can do so through a recognized and sanctioned ConnectOcean Training Centre.
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ConnectOcean’s 3 Pillars: Discover, Connect, Protect
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Community Driven Conservation
DISCOVER
Adaptative E-learning
Introduction to UN's 7 Ocean Literacy Principles
Source to Sea
Mangrove
Intertidal
Coral Reef
Open Ocean
CONNECT
Local Community Guides
Dive Centres
Citizen Science
Conservation Groups
Researchers
Activists
PROTECT
How to guide/playbook:
Regenerative Community Managed Hope Spots
Adopted sites
Marine Debris tracker
GIS Data Collection
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DISCOVER
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The Discover Pilar is led through the Adaptive Learning Platform that is currently being designed to cover each of the 5 above mentioned Marine Ecosystems and a Manta Conservation Specialty.
Each Specialty also has a corresponding Instructor Specialty Outline with all the course prerequisites ,Course objectives, Course standards and recommended course flow for facilitation.
The Discover Pillar creates the need to know and the basic understanding of each Ecosystem, the importance it plays as part of a collective system that is connected to the ocean and current state and threats to these ecosystems.
Adaptive Learning can be done at the comfort of home or part of an organised course at a school or university.
It leads to 2 options:
A Discover Experience by a UCI/ ConnectOcean local guide to explore a watershed, mangrove, intertidal zone ,Coral Reef or Open Ocean ecosystem.
A Distinctive certification by completing all 3 Pillars and course prerequisites.
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CONNECT
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The Connect Pillar focuses on creating local relevance by connecting students to “place” in their local communities.
The Connect phase takes what was learnt during the Discovery phase from a global perspective of acting local by connecting students to real-time researchers, conservationists, and explorers through an in-person or online workshop.
The Connect Pillar is designed to be hands-on with community-based service learning that fosters stewardship by introducing participants to passionate mentors or local guides who are active in their direct community through research, data collection, conservation and exploration.
The workshop uses place-based education techniques combined with Citizen Science which require hands-on learning. The workshop can be taught via weblink or in person on-site in the respective ecosystems without having to be in a classroom setting. The Connect Workshops are designed to teach participants the value and importance of each of the related ecosystems in their local community through engaging participants in research through citizen science data collection during the Protect phase of the program.
INTERTIDAL EXPLORER
Regenerative Community Tourism Certification
The unique aspect and opportunity that arises through this is that we are able to design a Regenerative Tourism certification program in partnership with UCI for local guides in communities to facilitate the Connect Experience by training locals and using their first-hand knowledge to guide participants to explore their local reefs, intertidal zones or mangrove sanctuaries. We incentivize a stewardship program where local communities will have the capacity to take collective ownership of the health of marine ecosystems in their own backyards by linking it to regenerative tourism and citizen science.
A Visitor from the USA can do the online Adaptive Learning before his vacation and once in Costa Rica be connected to a Discovery Experience to visit a local mangrove, snorkel a reef or explore rock pools in an intertidal zone.
The experience can be booked online through a ConnectOcean Explorer Portal which would connect tourists directly with a local certified guide with local knowledge of a corresponding ecosystem. Visitors can use the portal to research where to go, read online about the community initiatives and book and pay for their Discover Explorer Experience with money going directly to the guide or local communities. Local community
guides will learn first-hand the value of regenerating ecosystems, the healthier
their reefs, intertidal zones, mangroves and water sheds, the more visitors
they will get!
Regenerative Community Tourism Certification
REGENERATIVE TOURISM
DISCOVER
Adaptative Learning
BOOK
Explorer Portal: Book a Discover Experience
CONNECT
Connect with a local guide
CONNECT
Connect with a ConnectOcean Chapter
PROTECT
Create a Regenerative Community Managed Hope Spot
The UCI Certified ConnectOcean guides will be trained in the respective Citizen Science Protocols to survey and gather data from their local watersheds, Intertidal zones, mangroves and coral reefs.
Currently there is a large number of compressor divers and young men or teenagers without jobs. They spend a lot of time diving for lobster , octopus and oysters in intertidal zones. In one instance we observed 2 of these young men with about 30 to 40 octopus all harvested from the intertidal area around Zapotal. To remove this amount of Octopus from this one intertidal ecosystem in one instance would greatly affect the species survival or returning to this one area.
The UCI/ConnectOcean Explorer Guide certification program could train local communities as Discovery guides which would guide visiting tourists and students booked through the ConnectOcean Explorer Portal allowing them to earn a sustainable income through guiding rather than a once off harvest for a minimum amount of income.
A good example of how this will work:
A good example of how this will work:
These Discovery Guides will become the custodians of their intertidal zones, watersheds, mangroves and coral reefs. They will be trained to survey these ecosystems and continuously collect data through the ConnectOcean Citizen Science protocols that will be uploaded onto an ArcGIS Hub.
The citizen science data gathered under this project will be used to advise policy changes and conservation management plans for ecosystems found in these local communities through community engagement and local government support.
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PROTECT
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The Protect Pillar focuses on the call to action. Each participating school will be encouraged to start a ConnectOcean chapter as a conduit to take action in their local community. Each ConnectOcean chapter will receive an Ocean Literacy starter kit with a yearly global agenda with quarterly themes based on the 4 major threats to our Oceans:
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Pollution
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Habitat destruction and biodiversity loss
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Overexploitation of fisheries
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Climate change
The Global Agenda will take a “Think Global, Act Local” approach creating common chapter goals with quarterly objectives/themes/events which can include but not be limited to monthly documentary screenings, adopt-a-reef, beach clean ups, etc.
The chapters will be anchored and mentored by the mentors that the students connected with during the Connect phase. The ultimate goal is for the students to foster this connection with their mentors and get involved in their local NGOs and create research projects.
The ConnectOcean Chapters would function similar to a student-run environmental club run by a student-President, Vice President, and Treasurer at the school.
The Global Agenda and related events will support and be in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (click here) and within the framework of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science and Sustainable Development ( Click here)
The Protect phase will incorporate an integrated research approach through citizen science, examining the biological, ecological and behavioural trends of marine ecosystems; focusing on mangroves, intertidal zones, reefs, open ocean and watershed ecology.
The citizen science data gathered under this project will be used to advise policy changes and conservation management plans for ecosystems found in their local community through community engagement and local government support.
Essentially a chapter will adopt an ecosystem which could be a watershed, an intertidal zone, a mangrove, or coral reef. Each adopted site will become a Regenerative Community Managed Hope Spot and a link in a chain of hope spots , all connected and cared for by the local community.
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"While knowledge about nature is vital, passion is the long-distance fuel for the struggle to save our natural heritage. Passion does not get delivered through textbooks, the internet or the television, passion is personal... Passion gets lifted from earth and nature itself."
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CONTACT US
ConnectOcean Citizen Science Explorer 2022
By Lapula Estudio
ConnectOcean Citizen Science Explorer 2022
A Project of ConnnectOcean Conservation and Outreach. A division of the ConnectOcean Group. Las Catalinas, Playa Danta. Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
