Welcome back to another installation of Coastkeeper Chronicles, a monthly commemoration of our biggest water wins to celebrate our 25th anniversary! Head to our blog to read previous stories on stopping Poseidon’s desalination project, restoring native species in Newport Bay, and more.
Today, we invite you to rediscover our largest environmental education program, WHALES, which has empowered Orange County youth for almost twenty years. Since 2005, we’ve inspired over 43,000 students to become watershed heroes through our WHALES program.
WHALES (Watershed Heroes: Actions Linking Education to Stewardship) was designed to immerse students in their local environment through engaging in-class activities and unforgettable field trip experiences. The goals of the WHALES program are to:
- Reengage middle and high school students in STEM fields through standards-based activities that include research, monitoring, and restoration
- Enhance environmental literacy by challenging students to think critically about local environmental issues and solutions
- Foster environmental stewardship and community action by connecting students to their local environment
Our most popular activities include evaluating the water quality of a local creek through chemical testing or biological assessments; hiking in the upper watershed while identifying native plant and animal species; conducting biodiversity surveys of the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve; and exploring tide pools in Marine Protected Areas.
Living in the highly urbanized region of Orange County, many of our students face barriers that prevent them from developing meaningful relationships with their local environment. We offer students that opportunity by absorbing all program costs and taking them into nature at no cost to schools or families.
Since its humble beginnings in 2005, WHALES has become one of our most resilient and sizeable programs. Even when faced with the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted by using technology to host live water quality labs via Zoom. Although students were indoors, our lessons reminded them that despite being apart, water connects us all.
During this past school year, our team of WHALES educators grew in size and impact, resulting in over 7,000 students served. We’ve already begun preparations to make an even bigger splash for the 2024-2025 school year!
By offering high-quality, no-cost environmental education to local students, we are cultivating a widespread appreciation and dedication to protecting our waters. Click the video below to see WHALES in action!
Thank you for joining me for another Coastkeeper Chronicles story! I look forward to continuing our year-long 25th anniversary celebration with you all next month.
Sincerely,
Garry Brown
Founder & President
