Celebration of the Sea Foundation Launches International Interactive Educational & Conservation Exchange Program in the U.S. & Mexico in Collaboration with Monroe County Schools

International Sister Cities Exchange Program features leading scientists, teachers, students and conservation organizations in announcement April 23 – 26
 
WHO:          The Celebration of the Sea Foundation, its board, Monroe County government officials and a wide variety of leading education, conservation and research organizations along with Ten Mexican Ocean Heroes Ambassadors from the “Sister City” of Cancún, Mexico
 
WHAT:      Officially announce the launch of the “Ocean Heroes” international interactive educational and conservation exchange program which features a unique global public-private partnership between leading scientific, educational and conservation organizations
 
WHEN:           2 p.m.
                            Monday, April 24
 
WHERE:        Murray Nelson Government Center
                           102050 Overseas Hwy. in Key Largo
 
SCHOOLS:   The initial schools that have been selected to pilot the program are
Treasure Village Montessori School in Islamorada and Sugarloaf School in Summerland Key in Florida. The Leonardo Da Vinci Schools in Cancún, Mexico, which are officially certified as Cambridge International Bilingual educational institutions, have been selected as the initial international “Sister City” educational locations.
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
On Tuesday April 25, divers and Monroe County public school students will participate in a coral restoration project. Divers will depart from the Mote Marine Lab Islamorada Coral Nursery at Bud N’ Mary’s Marina and led by I.CARE About Corals with the Ocean Heroes partnering U.S. and Mexican scientific, educational and conservation organizations.
 
A major focus of the education program is on highlighting extraordinary ocean conservation role models and respective jobs and career paths for students in STREAM (Science, Technology, Resiliency, Engineering, Arts & Math), eco-tourism, fisheries, hospitality and the marine industries. An additional key goal of each program is to bring public attention to critically important environmental issues, while engaging, educating and inspiring children and their families to help protect and ensure the sustained well-being of marine animals and their respective habitats.
 
The Ocean Heroes program features in-school enrichment programs and state-of-the-art, live-streamed interactive broadcasts. Both will be complemented by pre-recorded video content, produced by the Celebration of the Sea Foundation, in collaboration with select U.S. and Mexican based educational, conservation and research organizations.
 
The Ocean Heroes program provides direct access to a broad range of international thought leaders who serve as extraordinary role models for students and teachers in a wide variety of key subject areas. These include marine plastics and their direct impact on marine ecosystems, marine animal rescue and protection, fish species identification and population studies, endangered and invasive species, civic leadership and governance of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The Ocean Heroes program will continue to showcase critically important habitat conservation and restoration efforts that are currently underway including coral reefs and mangroves while highlighting their direct interconnectedness with Everglades National Park, the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay and Cenotes in Mexico.
 
For more information about how your school can participate in the Celebration of the Sea Foundation’s Ocean Heroes program or to become an official corporate or philanthropic sponsor to support our amazing students and teachers please contact [email protected].

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