The MERITO Foundation is being recognized with the Community Foundation Award at the Water: Take 1 Film Festival
The award honors the Foundation's effort to build ocean stewardship and environmental literacy among local youth. Through a partnership between the MERITO Foundation and Ventura Water, over 1,500 students from Ventura schools have visited the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility since 2017. During field experiences, students learn about the importance of conserving water in our region, how our water distribution system works, and how to reduce urban runoff pollution.
The award will be presented during the Water: Take 1 Film Festival organized by Ventura Water. The film festival is a free, public event featuring short films that showcase critical water issues and community efforts in water conservation.
This event was postponed. Check back soon for a new date!
Our Vision
Our vision is a healthy ocean cared by diverse coastal communities who live in an environmentally responsible manner regardless of native language, economic status, cultural beliefs, or ethnic background because we all share one ocean.
Our Mission
Our Mission is ocean protection through education, conservation, citizen science, and to inspire the next generation of environmental professionals.
438
Educators Trained
16,781
4th-12th grade students immersed in ocean and climate education
437
Project proposals authored by students to reduce their school carbon footprint
10,984
Students sponsored education trips to Channel Islands
465
Hands on conservation and/or citizen science field experiences
$36,400
Disbursed as cash and in kind prizes to students authors of best projects
How We Do It
"The MERITO Academy was an inspirational experience for my students and I when I taught 5th grade level. Without the program, my students would not otherwise have gotten access to such a high quality of science instruction."
Teresa (Terry) Ellingson
Our Latest News
Students' Innovation in Action!
EECCOA Project Implementation Update
We are excited to announce that an energy conservation project proposed by students in Ms. Mendez's class at Anacapa Middle School has been implemented as a part of Ventura Unified School District's on-going commitment to sustainability. During the 2018-19 school year, students in Ms. Mendez’s class who were participating in the EECCOA Challenge 2019, calculated potential electricity savings by installing sensors for the classrooms that automatically shut off the lights when not in use. Great minds think alike because Ventura Unified School District Facilities Maintenance staff were set to install a similar device over the summer. Students returned to class this fall excited to see their project had been implemented!
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EECCOA Challenge 2019 1st Place winners "Bottles for Profit," from Jonata Middle School in Buellton are excited to be implementing their project this year. Students identified a business opportunity that would reduce the number of plastic bottles ending up in the trash and collected funds to support the project last June before moving on to high school. This school year, a new group of students has taken the project on at their school by purchasing containers so they can collect and recycle bottles. The students said that one of their main motivations was when they learned about microplastics in the ocean while participating in the MERITO Foundation’s programs. The funds collected will be used to buy science supplies, explained to their teacher, Marie Chavez.