Story by Tricia Edgar at Kalev.com
This article, The Oceanseed Project: Community, Meet Ocean, is syndicated from http://www.kalev.com and is posted here with permission.

The oceans are vast. They’re so vast that some say that Earth should be renamed the ocean planet. After all, oceans cover more of the planet than land does, but it can be hard for land-based humans to really connect with what’s going on in those depths. The human community is vast too. There are more than 7 billion of us, and we all have our joys and troubles. In countries with great material wealth, there are still people who struggle.

The Oceanseed Project delves into the two questions of ecological health and community vitality, connecting these complex and interconnected systems. In an interview with Kalev.com, founder Dominic Renda described how he decided to move to create an organization that would connect youth at risk to ocean environments, generating a connection that can benefit both people and oceans.

Renda was looking for a way to improve ecological health and the social wellbeing of communities. He created the idea of engaging families and youth in programs that take them to the ocean to enjoy both structured learning and quiet time. Oceanseed runs ocean connection programs that connect children, youth, and families in the Santa Cruz area with local ocean and watershed environments. Their programs encourage people to engage in self-directed learning outdoors, exploring and experiencing the ocean. The intention is that through this experience, people will become more connected to these environments and that this will have positive implications for their families, their communities, and the ocean itself.

Although it is only a year old, Oceanseed has quickly crafted partnerships that have allowed it to connect with children, families, and youth at risk. Their early years program provides families with a five week long program that helps them get to and get to know their local ocean environments. This program runs in conjunction with organizations such as First Five, which connect with families of children 5 years old and under. For children in primary school, there’s a program that combines homework help, mentorship, and exploration of ocean environments. College environmental studies students act as program leaders, inspiring children to work hard in school and enjoy the outdoors. The OceanSeed Project also works with youth in the justice system, bringing natural objects and discussion into prisons and talking with youth about their local places.

Already, these programs are making an impact. Renda says that when the project began, eight out of ten of the children in the primary years program preferred to play indoors. Now their families are changing the way they spend their recreational time, although there are still barriers to accessing the outdoors, such as a lack of safe spaces for play. There are still many barriers to overcome, however. Renda says that transportation is a big barrier for children, youth, and families. Although many people live close to the California coast, they don’t access the beach. He would like to purchase a bus so that youth can access ocean environments and create positive connections with their environment, mentors, and each other.

The Oceanseed Project is new and growing, and it welcomes volunteers from the environmental sciences who’d like to make a difference to ecosystems and the people who connect to them. The project seeks to bridge the gap between social services and environmental work, showing that cultivating a strong relationship between people and ocean ecosystems can reconnect people, strengthening communities and connections between people and their places.

Photo: Child in the ocean. Image Credit: NOAA’s National Ocean Service / CC by 2.0