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 O'Neill
Sea Odyssey (OSO) was founded in 1996 by wetsuit innovator
and surfer Jack O'Neill. A living classroom was created on board
a 65-foot catamaran sailing the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary where 4th - 6th grade students from schools throughout
Central California receive hands-on lessons about the marine
habitat and the importance of the relationship between the living
sea and the environment. The program is conducted on board the
catamaran with follow-up lessons at the shore-side Education
Center at the Santa Cruz Harbor. It is free of charge, but
students earn their way into the program by designing and performing
a project to benefit their community.
The curriculum is taught in a stimulating
and intimate learning environment, which provides a learning
experience that lasts a lifetime. The program’s curriculum is
designed to support the educational goals of the schools that
participate, and each of the subjects taught align with both
California state and federal education standards. The three
subjects taught are marine science, marine and watershed ecology,
and navigation/mathematics.
OSO has served 50,000 students since its inception. In 2005 the
program received the prestigious California Governor’s award in
Economic and Environmental Leadership and in 2005 it received US
Senator Barbara Boxer’s Conservation Champion award.
Most of OSO’s work involves the core program, which is the one-day
field trip supplemented by standards-based marine science curriculum
for participating classes use before and after the field trip. In
addition, the Adam Webster Memorial Fund, founded by Tom & Judy Webster
when their son Adam passed away in 1999, provides the program for
cognitively and physically challenged individuals.
Other special programs that O’Neill Sea Odyssey has conducted include
(1) the week-long San Jose Community Oceanography program which focused
on watershed to the sea education for low-income youth, (2) Ocean Scholars,
which provides ocean science mentorships for youth served by Familia Center
serving low-income Latino families in Santa Cruz County, and (3) Project
Discovery that provided an overnight program for Oakland youth at O’Neill
Sea Odyssey and Henry Cowell State Park.
Executive Director Dan Haifley has presented papers demonstrating the
positive, measurable impact of O’Neill Sea Odyssey’s program on
disadvantaged youth in the areas of educational achievement and
environmental stewardship.
For more details about the program curriculum, go to the
Learning Center
 
O’Neill Sea Odyssey is a California
Non-Profit Corporation ID#77-0464784 |
