The Monterey Bay MERITO program held a student contest for cartoons that promote the importance of water quality and protection of the watersheds that lead to the ocean. The winner's cartoon, is displayed on buses throughout the community, reaching roughly 500,000 Monterey County residents, and an additional 7 million annual Central Coast visitors.
MERITO Cartoon Contest Winner
Channel Islands MERITO held a cartoon contest award ceremony at Santa Barbara Harbor aboard research vessel Shearwater prior to the boat departure to Santa Cruz Island. The grand prize-winner Elise Pham and five runner-up winners for 8th-12th grade levels received cash prizes. Their cartoons promote the importance of ocean water quality and the protection of the watersheds that lead to the ocean. MAD Magazine cartoonist, Sergio Aragones handed the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary sponsored cash prizes to the top 6 participants and provided a cartooning workshop at Santa Cruz Island to the top 15 contestants. The Channel Islands MERITO program is also producing bilingual bus signs with the winning cartoon strip. The bus signs will be placed in 120 diesel and electric buses in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California.
MERITO Watershed Academy
The Multicultural Education for Resource Issues Threatening Oceans (MERITO) program focuses on providing migrant and English as a second language learners with the tools to strengthen their academic skills and confidence, particularly in the area of science and conservation. This program offers watershed and ocean science after-school programming for diverse students throughout regions of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The Watershed Academy program builds stewardship for our special marine resources through monitoring, restoration and community building field experiences. Read more about this innovative multicultural program.
Ocean for Life
The Ocean for Life program is an initiative to increase cultural understanding through ocean science. Ocean for Life provides high quality, immersive ocean field studies and follow-on education programs to facilitate cross-cultural learning, appreciation, and lasting experiences between Middle Eastern and Western students. The next proposed Ocean for Life field study will take place during the summer of 2015.
Sanctuary Explorers Camp
Explore the hidden treasures of the coast, become a junior marine scientist, and help protect our local marine sanctuaries - all in one exciting week. Campers will investigate the fascinating array of plants and animals of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary by visiting tidepools, sandy beaches and lighthouses. This action-packed week culminates in a kayaking adventure on the San Francisco Bay. Read more about a new generation of Sanctuary Explorers from the August 2006 camp.
Explore Monterey Bay with Coralito
Follow a young boy’s imaginary underwater adventures through Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in the new bilingual, Spanish-English children’s book, Coralito’s Bay. During his dream-like journey, Coralito discovers the natural wonders in the sanctuary, and how important healthy ocean are to their inhabitants.
MERITO Multicultural Initiative
Monterey Bay Posts Bilingual Cartoon on Community Buses
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