The Blue and You

Whether young or old, everyone has a role to play in national marine sanctuaries!

National marine sanctuaries are living classrooms, providing hands-on, experiential spaces in which students and visitors can better understand their relationship to the ocean and Great Lakes and the ecosystems within them. Through programs like Ocean Guardian, students learn how they have the power to care for marine environments and implement projects that have direct impacts on the health of the ocean.

Sanctuary volunteers help educate the public in visitor centers and throughout sanctuary waters, and participate in citizen science efforts and beach cleanups. They also serve as a bridge to communities, ensuring that national marine sanctuaries remain America’s underwater treasures for future generations.

By working together, we can all protect these special marine places — and the ocean as a whole.