Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers
NOAA
About the initiative
Youth engagement is a major priority for many CELC members. The CELC strategic plan calls on the network to develop and support opportunities for aquarium youth — particularly those from underrepresented communities — to engage in stewardship actions for ocean and coastal conservation.
Every two years, the CELC network selects teams of teens who work with member aquariums and receive funding from NOAA to lead action projects related to climate and conservation in their communities. The CELC network brings these teams together at a summit where they engage with leaders in climate, community resilience, and conservation fields and brainstorm action projects. They complete their projects over the next year.
2024 Youth Summit: July 24-27
Hosted by South Carolina Aquarium offsite link
Sponsored by NAAEE offsite link in partnership with NOAA
The official 2024 CELC Youth Summit graphic created by the Teen Climate Council Design Committee offsite link at the Aquarium of the Pacific offsite link. (Image credit: Teen Climate Council Design Committee at the Aquarium of the Pacific.)
This year, aquariums from the CELC network and teams of teens that they have selected will meet in person at South Carolina Aquarium offsite link to participate in the second CELC Youth Summit. The Youth Summit is the beginning of a year-long effort. The teams will hear from a variety of speakers on a range of topics including climate action, building community resilience, and science communications. Teams will develop skills that will help them perform action projects in their communities. Attendees will participate in a local conservation project and receive tours of NOAA facilities in the surrounding Charleston area. When they return home, the teams will perform a community needs assessment, develop action projects around their communities needs, and complete the projects by spring 2025.
Planning is currently underway! In the meantime, check out these stories of Youth Summit teens in action.
Aquariums attending the 2024 Youth Summit:
- Aquarium of the Pacific offsite link
- Audubon Aquarium offsite link
- Monterey Bay Aquarium offsite link
- Mystic Aquarium offsite link
- New York Aquarium offsite link
- Oregon Coast Aquarium offsite link
- Shedd Aquarium offsite link
- South Carolina Aquarium offsite link
Past summits
2021 Virtual Youth Summit
On August 6-8, 2021, teams of high school students associated with our 25 partner aquariums came together for the 2021 CELC Virtual Youth Summit. This exciting weekend featured virtual interactive workshops from leaders sharing how they are making a difference for the ocean through a variety of means — art, social media, writing, advocacy, and more — and teaching the summit participants how they can do the same. After the summit, each group of teens left with new skills, new connections, and a plan for how they will take action in their home community to protect coastal and marine ecosystems. Additionally, the CELC network continued to support participating teens’ continued professional development after the summit through monthly professional development webinars.
Our partners
CELC Youth Summits are supported by eeBLUE offsite link, a partnership between NOAA Office of Education and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). We also work alongside our Youth Planning Team, a group of young leaders from across our partner aquariums who organize and coordinate the summit. We would also like to acknowledge the external organizations that provided us with resources, guidance, and summit models that helped shape this program, particularly the following groups: