Abstract

Building capacity to create a pathway for local Bahamian youth to enter marine conservation careers has been one priority for the Perry Institute for Marine Science’s Community Conservation Education and Action (CCEA) program since its inception in 2019. In order to facilitate this goal, the Rising Tides program was launched in 2022 on the island of New Providence. Although other marine and environmental education programs exist locally, CCEA’s Rising Tides program features curriculum focused on conservation, management, and stewardship; content framed specifically within a Bahamian context; and activities intended on promoting behavior change to support local conservation efforts. Additionally, measuring success based on both outputs and outcomes was prioritized. This project examines the impact of this pilot program on youth participants’ marine science knowledge and awareness; environmental attitudes, values, and behaviors; motivational processes; and levels of career support using a mixed-methods evaluation approach.

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