"Give a child an experience to last a lifetime of the ocean," is the slogan of Heroes of the Seaa program founded in Baja California Sur by Dora SandovalThe project seeks to train the next generation of conservationists to care for the health of the oceans.
These are children from small Mexican fishing communities with whom the company has
explore the problems facing the oceans to, together, create solutions for sustainability.
"We will give children from Baja's fishing communities the opportunity to work alongside scientists, ecotourism experts and business leaders. We will expose them to alternative economic opportunities while teaching them to respect marine life and its natural resources," the program details.
The Heroes of the Sea program is designed for children and youth ages 13 to 17, who are given the opportunity to work side-by-side with scientists, ecotourism experts and business leaders to learn about marine science and biology, sustainability, ecotourism and business opportunities to help support their local communities.
Do you want to participate? Here's what you have to do
Children from 13 to 17 years old can send a written or video essay to the following e-mail address info@heroesdelmar.org in which they express why they feel they should participate in "Heroes of the Sea" and what they hope to gain from the experience.
Recruits will be chosen based on their passion for learning and their potential to share what they have learned with their communities.
After the program they will have an exit interview that they will share with their communities and the world through social media.
In 2019, the first trip
From June 30 to July 7, 2019, the first 14 children in this program made their first trip, departing from La Paz.
The places they visited were the Espiritu Santo archipelago, San Francisquito, San Jose and El Pardito islands.
The adventure then took them to the islands of Carmen and San Jose, and to the islets in Ensenada Grande, to finally return to La Paz.
The program marks a second trip in year 2, which will bring the students back to focus on the subjects in which they showed interest. It will focus on the citizen science program and an open water diving certification, where the emphasis will be on local economic and sustainability awareness.
In the third year they will take the Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 trip. In the Year 3 trip they will develop a program within the subjects where the students showed interest and initiate a leadership program in which the boys who have done Year 3 can tutor the Year 1 boys.
Source: Heroes of the Sea
