About
MERITO Foundation Youth Education & Engagement Programs involve environmental education, scientific research, outdoor recreation, marine conservation, and green entrepreneurship. Participants take part in climate, ocean, and energy literacy activities, scientific research and habitat restoration, and hands-on conservation, recreation, and citizen science field experiences. The programs also include ocean and climate education and sponsored education trips to the Channel Islands.
• Price: $71,050 disbursed as cash and in kind prizes to students authors of best projects; $32,050 sponsored the greening of 10 school campuses
The mission of MERITO Foundation Youth Education & Engagement Programs is to protect the ocean by engaging multicultural youth and their communities in transformative experiences in environmental education, scientific research, outdoor recreation, marine conservation, and entrepreneurship. The foundation was formed in 2013, and its work and origins date back to 2001 as the MERITO Program developed by NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in 2004. The programs follow four strategic pillars: Community Engagement through outreach, public forums, and assessments; Capacity Building through climate, ocean, and energy literacy; Youth and Community Participation through scientific research and habitat restoration; and outdoor recreation, leadership, career pathways, and green entrepreneurship.
As of July 2025, the MERITO Foundation has trained 721 educators and immersed more than 30,631 4th–12th grade students in ocean and climate education. By that date, 12,470 students had been sponsored on education trips to the Channel Islands, and 685 hands-on conservation, recreation, and citizen science field experiences had taken place. Students had authored 864 project proposals to reduce their school carbon footprint, and 29,648 adults in Ventura County had been informed on clean and renewable energy options. The foundation states a vision of a healthy ocean cared for by diverse coastal communities who live in an environmentally responsible manner regardless of native language, economic status, cultural beliefs, or ethnic background, and it focuses on engaging multicultural youth and their communities.
The MERITO Foundation Inc. works closely with Federal, State, County, and Municipal Government Agencies, school districts, higher education institutions, and non-profit conservation organizations in the USA and abroad, and it shares lessons learned with other regions near national marine sanctuaries where there is a need for ocean conservation education. Inclusivity and accessibility are stated as a priority, and if the office is not accessible, staff offer to meet at an accessible location in Ventura or connect via phone or video call. One participant, Evelyn, a MERITO Foundation Outdoor & Environmental Steward for 2024–2025, stated that being a MERITO Steward taught her valuable lessons in leadership and about preserving marine life and keeping oceans clean and thriving, and that she felt grateful for what she learned and for an experience she will never forget.
Last updated June 23, 2026.
• Price: $71,050 disbursed as cash and in kind prizes to students authors of best projects; $32,050 sponsored the greening of 10 school campuses
The mission of MERITO Foundation Youth Education & Engagement Programs is to protect the ocean by engaging multicultural youth and their communities in transformative experiences in environmental education, scientific research, outdoor recreation, marine conservation, and entrepreneurship. The foundation was formed in 2013, and its work and origins date back to 2001 as the MERITO Program developed by NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in 2004. The programs follow four strategic pillars: Community Engagement through outreach, public forums, and assessments; Capacity Building through climate, ocean, and energy literacy; Youth and Community Participation through scientific research and habitat restoration; and outdoor recreation, leadership, career pathways, and green entrepreneurship.
As of July 2025, the MERITO Foundation has trained 721 educators and immersed more than 30,631 4th–12th grade students in ocean and climate education. By that date, 12,470 students had been sponsored on education trips to the Channel Islands, and 685 hands-on conservation, recreation, and citizen science field experiences had taken place. Students had authored 864 project proposals to reduce their school carbon footprint, and 29,648 adults in Ventura County had been informed on clean and renewable energy options. The foundation states a vision of a healthy ocean cared for by diverse coastal communities who live in an environmentally responsible manner regardless of native language, economic status, cultural beliefs, or ethnic background, and it focuses on engaging multicultural youth and their communities.
The MERITO Foundation Inc. works closely with Federal, State, County, and Municipal Government Agencies, school districts, higher education institutions, and non-profit conservation organizations in the USA and abroad, and it shares lessons learned with other regions near national marine sanctuaries where there is a need for ocean conservation education. Inclusivity and accessibility are stated as a priority, and if the office is not accessible, staff offer to meet at an accessible location in Ventura or connect via phone or video call. One participant, Evelyn, a MERITO Foundation Outdoor & Environmental Steward for 2024–2025, stated that being a MERITO Steward taught her valuable lessons in leadership and about preserving marine life and keeping oceans clean and thriving, and that she felt grateful for what she learned and for an experience she will never forget.
Last updated June 23, 2026.
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