Parley Ocean School
OUR IMMERSIVE AND HANDS-ON ocean EDUCATION PROGRAMS AIM TO InspirE and empower people of all ages, creating lasting change by inspiring new ocean guardians in classrooms, ONLINE and IN boardrooms
We all depend on the oceans – but too few of us get the chance to explore and appreciate their beauty firsthand. Parley Ocean School takes an immersive approach to environmental education with the goal of inspiring marine conservation and empowering its next generation of leaders: Ocean Guardians.
Parley Ocean School youth programs simplify complex marine threats through engaging materials developed with a global network of educators. Our lessons balance local and global issues, connect big-picture thinking with immediate impacts, and instill in each individual a sense of place and agency within the movement to combat today’s biggest marine threats.
Initiatives are led in collaboration with local schools, NGOs and governments. Our programs are tailored to support existing curriculum and introduce new and exciting experiences in the marine environment we’re fighting to protect.
EDUCATION FOR ACTION
Parley Ocean School is an initiative connecting curious minds to the knowledge, tools and inspiration for creating change. Explore free ocean courses on our virtual learning portal:
OCEAN IMMERSION
The best place to learn about the oceans is in the environment we are fighting to protect. In addition to classroom lessons and workshops, Parley Ocean School programs provide engaging experiences on, and in, the water. We support Ocean Immersion through water-based activities, including: diving, snorkeling, stand-up paddle boarding, surfing and sailing. Working in collaboration with the Reef and Me and the Ministry of Education in the Maldives, the program has helped over 100,000 children and their parents go swimming and snorkeling — many for the very first time.
CLASSROOM LEARNING
Since piloting our program in the Maldives in 2015, we’ve expanded Parley Ocean School around the world in collaboration with educators, NGOs, brands and governments, focusing especially on coastal communities most affected by marine plastic pollution. Our in-school lessons, Parley AIR (Avoid, Intercept, Redesign) workshops and plastic interception points are active in over 70 schools and counting.
PARLEY AIR STATIONS
As our flagship educational tools, Parley AIR Stations serve as community collaboration hubs for ocean awareness, exploration and activism. Composed of repurposed modular shipping container systems, these spaces act as classrooms, event spaces and workshops for local communities to interact, learn, access new technologies, and fall in love with the oceans. Our Parley AIR Stations in Hawaiʻi and South Africa have become bustling community education centers, while we continued our work to expand the program and forthcoming stations in communities around the world.
Ocean Educators Program
Parley maps, trains and certifies local community leaders to become Ocean Educators. Through a collaborative approach, Parley and Educators co-create a customized AIR Talk for that specific location. Ocean Educators then teach in local schools and together with students, implement local actions for the oceans.
DIRECT ACTION
Parley Ocean School is dedicated to equipping the next generation of leaders not only with the knowledge and tools to create a better future, but also the skills and inspiration to act on their learnings. Through workshops in the field and beach cleanups, students can explore the impacts of marine plastic pollution first-hand and work together to intercept existing threats to their surrounding environment.
CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT: EMPLOYEE & AMBASSADOR EXPEDITIONS
“People protect what they love,” said Jacques Cousteau. But in order to love something, you need to know it. Nobody wakes up in the morning and decides to destroy the oceans. Behind every brand, business, sports team, global corporation and government is a complex ecosystem comprised of individual decision-makers capable of creating change. Parley Ocean School corporate expeditions provide the foundation for authentic participation in the environmental cause by fostering personal connections to the sea.
Together with our network of partners, collaborators and ambassadors (including marine experts, scientists, athletes, material innovators, explorers, activists and artists), we develop programs which initiate new members to the cause, introduce them to the next generation of ocean leaders, and inspire each individual to participate on a deeper level. Our Corporate Engagement programs are organized in support of Parley Ocean School youth education programs.