The Ocean Project catalyzes collective action for our ocean and climate. By collaborating with youth leaders, zoos, aquariums, museums, and other community organizations we are growing a global network that effectively engages the public, informs policymakers, and protects our blue planet.

Everything The Ocean Project does is based on the values of collaboration, inclusion, impact, and respect for all people and life. We recognize that a healthy ocean is essential for life, allowing us and nature to survive and thrive.

We are all about collaborative conservation. The Ocean Project intentionally does not try to brand itself, but is dedicated to supporting youth leaders, aquariums, zoos, museums, and others in our global partner network of approximately 2,000 organizations to advance action for our blue planet, its ocean and climate. Small by design, we are a data-driven and solutions-focused organization that punches far above its weight. Special thanks to amazing young leaders worldwide and seasoned professionals who serve on our Advisory Councils.

To achieve impact on scale commensurate with the size of the issues we collectively face, we work through a lens of collaboration and take a network approach to all our endeavors, to be as efficient and effective as possible for durable conservation outcomes. We believe in the power of partnership to accelerate progress toward a healthy blue planet. As a foundation for everything we do, we have conducted comprehensive public opinion and market research since 1998, applying the data and insights to collaborative campaigns, evolving from lessons learned to continually improve our partners’ individual and collective conservation impact.

As a collaborative movement builder, we have been working for many years to build connections and create tools and resources for advocacy and action. We have focused on supporting non-traditional stakeholders -- youth leaders, zoos, aquariums, and science museums, in particular -- to become bolder advocates, both individually and collectively. We enhance the capacity of our partners to effectively communicate and advocate for ocean and climate conservation with their target audiences, as well as to leaders in the public and private sectors.

Our rationale for focusing on youth and zoos, aquariums and museums is based on years of  research that shows that 1) youth tend to be the most interested and the most willing to act, with a high potential to influence others and 2) that visitors to zoos, aquariums, and museums not only expect and trust, but also appreciate conservation information and guidance on how to help with solutions, from personal behavior change to community engagement and policy and societal level improvements.

Together with our partners -- especially zoos, aquariums and museums (ZAMs) -- we co-develop campaigns for conservation impact, sharing lessons learned for all involved in our growing global partner network to benefit from. To support our network of diverse partners and the larger conservation community, we openly share our data and insights. More on our campaigns here.

We've developed World Ocean Day starting in 2002 into a global movement for our shared ocean, with involvement of thousands of organizations in 150 countries from all sectors, including youth groups; schools and universities; ZAMs; businesses and corporations; diving, surfing, sailing, and other outdoor recreation organizations; faith communities; government agencies, and many more. With thanks to the development of World Ocean Day and rallying the world toward June each year, the entire month of June has essentially become ocean month around our planet. World Ocean Day is powered by the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council, with 25 members from 22 countries. More on World Ocean Day here.

Since 2009, we've been steadily building a collaborative global youth engagement and leadership initiative and network that supports youth-led and youth-serving organizations to develop a broad, diverse, active, and united youth constituency for our blue planet. This innovative initiative focuses on action and advocacy. We regularly highlight diverse youth leaders and organizations through many channels including to our 225K+ followers on social media. More on the youth initiative here.

We've grown from a handful of co-founding aquariums and conservation organizations in 1997 into one of the most extensive networks for advancing conservation and solutions-oriented action for our blue planet. Most of our work is done behind-the-scenes, supporting our youth leaders and other key partners to be bolder and connecting them with others in our global network and beyond to scale success.

We do our work with a lean team: the equivalent of approximately 3 full time people plus some great student interns. Advisors help considerably in a variety of ways. The Ocean Foundation has served as the fiscal sponsor for The Ocean Project since 2006.

Enhance capacity of our partners to effectively communicate and advocate for conservation impact

• Support and help effectively activate the communications, education, outreach and advocacy capacities of our partners to effectively engage their target audiences, as well as leaders in the public and private sectors

Scale solutions within and beyond our network  

• Develop and expand our partner network, sharing successes and continually catalyzing more effective approaches, ensuring these efforts add maximum value to local, regional, national, and global conservation campaigns and movements