Sea Education Association (Caribbean)
Sea Education Association (SEA) is an ocean education non-profit that was founded in 1971 with the vision of inspiring ocean scholars and leaders by taking students to sea. SEA offers high school and undergraduate programmes that combine classroom instruction with hands-on learning aboard a sailing research vessel. Qualified students from all majors and backgrounds are welcomed at SEA to participate in this transformative educational experience that leads to improved collaboration and teamwork skills, self-confidence, self-reliance, and passion for ocean stewardship.
In 2024-2025, the Eurofins Foundation is providing funding to the initiative “Coral Reef Conservation: Caribbean.”
Coral Reef Conservation: Caribbean is an undergraduate, semester-long (13 weeks) programme that will be offered twice a year. Students will be enrolled in four accredited courses in this multi-disciplinary programme to take a holistic view of coral reef conservation. The combination of courses allows for students to consider not just the impact of climate change on the ocean and corals but also coastal resilience and the relationship of island communities to the marine environment. In addition, students will work closely with SEA faculty to develop and carry out coral reef science and humanities research. At the end of the programme, students will present their research to the local Caribbean community and regional partners engaged in coral reef conservation.
The second half of this programme will occur in the Caribbean region where participants will visit four islands for biogeographic comparison of coral reef health and approaches to reef conservation, environmental protection, and coastal resilience. At each island, they will use snorkel-based techniques to study water quality and ecology of coral reefs. Therefore, this project will establish a valuable time series of how coral reefs are responding to global climate change and local human impacts, which in turn informs coral reef management and environmental protection.
