Blue Ocean Brain Trust Education

Reef Life Foundation
5 days ago
7 min read

Updated: 2 hours ago

Blue Education Learning Network Series Created by

Reef Life Foundation Cultural Collaboration Team

Led by Reef Life Foundation / IntelliReefs | In Partnership with UN Global Education Networks, IUCN, African Ocean Foundations, GLISPA Global Islands, Canada and Salish Sea Indigenous Cultural Directors, Caribbean Nation Communities

This new global initiative is designed to restore coastal ecosystems and Indigenous marine foodways using Oceanite as a foundation for community-led innovation. By linking Oceanite sites across continents, this project builds a shared brain trust of knowledge, hands-on education, and localized restoration models that accelerate climate resilience and ocean literacy worldwide.

Thriving coral reefs flourish beneath the skyline of a modern metropolis, illustrating the harmony between urban development and marine conservation efforts by IntelliReefs.

PROJECT VISION

The Blue Oceans Learning Network & Blue Education Pilot is a strategic initiative to accelerate the expansion of Oceanite Coral and Kelp, Shellfish and high-impact Coastal Biodiversity projects worldwide by building a living system of shared knowledge, education, and community-led innovation.

Overview

The Blue Oceans Learning Network will connect active Oceanite project deployments worldwide – including in Canada, Vancouver-Halifax & Salish Sea Indigenous Tribal Communities, Caribbean Islands, Tobago Through Bahamas, South Africa Kelp Projects, Hawaii-Vietnam Coral and Fish Restoration, Australia and New Zealand – into a unified, collaborative brain trust to accelerate the growth and impact of current & future Oceanite initiatives.

Blue Ocean Brain Trust graphic; Building learning, communication, and connected wisdom for Oceanite projects worldwide.

Key insights from this global network will also power the Blue Education Series: Ocean Alive!, a new ocean literacy program designed to reconnect students and communities to the ocean that sustains all life — while introducing restorative practices like Oceanite and the building of community-led Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

Through Cold & Warm Water Pilot Demonstration Sites from Canada to the Caribbean, the initiative will offer hands-on learning spaces, field sites for ocean education, and platforms for new Oceanite-based restoration projects to take root and grow. These living, resilience-focused sites— ie. restoring Indigenous marine food systems, strengthening shoreline resilience, and reviving kelp, shellfish, eelgrass & coral ecosystems—will generate real-world case studies for the Learning Network while also acting as dynamic field sites for Blue Education outreach and engagement.

Together, these interconnected components create a self-reinforcing system—where each new Oceanite deployment feeds knowledge into the Learning Network, fuels education and community engagement through the Blue Education Series, and catalyzes the next wave of innovative, community-driven Oceanite projects worldwide. This pilot aims to create a replicable, community-driven model for Oceanite-centered restoration, blue ocean education, food security, locally-led stewardship, and the empowerment of women and girls as future leaders in marine innovation and restoration.

Key Project Features

Empower Women and Girls in Ocean Innovation:

Create leadership pathways for Indigenous and coastal women and girls

through scholarships, technical training, project management, and

environmental storytelling opportunities.

Accelerate Climate Resilience and Food Security:

Restore shellfish, kelp, eelgrass, and salmon ecosystems to strengthen

shoreline protection, rebuild Indigenous marine foodways, and support

sustainable blue economies.

Catalyze Community-Driven Restoration Models:

Equip communities with the tools, case studies, and technical support to

design and lead their own Oceanite-based marine restoration initiatives.

Advance Global Sustainability Goals:

Align with UN SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender

Equality), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 17

(Partnerships), fulfilling UN Decade of Ocean Science commitments.

CORE COMPONENTS

Blue Oceans Learning Network

Rather than scattering isolated efforts across the map, a learning network weaves them together, creating a living, breathing system.

A honeycomb of Oceanite communities: connecting a network of Oceanite use cases, research, and success stories

The global Blue Oceans Learning Network will cultivate a vibrant, interdisciplinary community that connects Oceanite deployments across the world—creating a living system of shared knowledge, innovation, and practical experience. Rather than siloing discoveries, the Blue Oceans Learning Network empowers communities to learn from one another, accelerating restoration success while honoring place-based knowledge and Indigenous leadership. It also helps accelerate the expansion of Oceanite deployment by sharing evolving knowledge with prospecting communities to better understand the capabilities and possibilities of Oceanite, fostering innovation and expansion. By communities communicating and collaborating across the globe in this learning network we can expand Oceanite-based restoration to foster community empowerment through shared knowledge, enhance professional development, support lifelong learning, foster inclusivity in education, and catalyze social change. It embodies the principal that education is most powerful when it is shared and where everyone, regardless of their background, have valuable insights to contribute to this collective wisdom -- the Blue Ocean Brain Trust.

The development, coordination, and expansion of the Blue Oceans Learning Network will be led by Reef Life Foundation and UN Youth Community Outreach, ensuring sustained community engagement, knowledge sharing, and strategic growth.

Learning Network Key Functions

Connect deployments in Canada, Caribbean Islands, South Africa, Vietnam, Asia Pacific, Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand Phases 1-5
Share case studies, monitoring data, challenges, and emerging innovations;
- Select project stories will be captured as short documentaries and integrated into the Blue Education Series, inspiring the next generation of ocean stewards with real-world examples.
Train women, youth and local cultural leaders in marine monitoring, project management, and storytelling.
Support communities in designing and scaling new Oceanite projects customized to their needs.

Blue Education Series

“You protect what you love.” – Oceanographer Sylvia Earle on ocean conservation

Don't forget World Oceans Day on June 8, 2025!!

A school group interacts with a diver at the Seattle Aquarium (image from Seattle Aquarium).

The Blue Education Series – Ocean Alive! – is an immersive education initiative that reconnects youth—especially women and girls—with the ocean by building ocean literacy, inspiring climate hope, and introducing real-world solutions like Oceanite. Through curriculum, storytelling, field experiences, and the inclusion of Indigenous and local cultural perspectives, the series links scientific understanding with emotional connection and pathways for action—empowering the next generation of ocean stewards and restoration leaders.

Ladies getting the work done in the labs and in the water for Reef Life Foundation!

Key Highlights

Teach essential ocean literacy and its role in sustaining life, climate, and food systems
Highlight ocean threats and community-centered solutions like Oceanite
Offer three streams of ocean scholarships and leadership pathways for young women and Indigenous students
- Marine biology/oceanography scholarships for scientists/conservation biologists
- Innovation scholarships for scientists and venture founders to commercialize their ocean innovations
- Skilled trades training to contribute to a sustainable blue economy
Deliver content through schools, aquariums, and virtual platforms for broad, scalable access
Integrate stories and case studies from the Blue Oceans Learning Network to ground education in lived experience and local relevance

Oceanite Demonstration Sites

Oceanite Demonstration Sites will serve as dynamic living laboratories, showcasing how Oceanite accelerates marine ecosystem restoration, revitalizes Indigenous food systems, and fortifies coastal resilience. Through shoreline deployments and aquarium-based (IntelliQuatics aquarium substrate rock) installations, these high-visibility hubs will provide hands-on learning, scientific research opportunities, and scalable models for Indigenous, coastal, and island communities. Strategic partnerships with aquariums will amplify public education, while successful sites offer a launchpad for community-led Oceanite expansions.

Example of a thriving kelp forest (Photo credit; Pippa Ehrlich).

Cold Water Pilot Demonstration Sites: Vancouver Region to Arctic Circle

Phase Three Halifax Kelp Monitoring and Carbon Credit Verification UN VERRA Mi'kmaq First Nations in Halifax contracted again to oversee underwater R+D Oceanite first initiative on kelp as well as we will report to UN for Biodiversity Credits, as well as various premium carbon credits
Vancouver Kelp and Shellfish Habitats, MFG Hub Lead by Shannon Bard and Canadian Cultural Networks in planning with IntelliReefs Design Teams for 5 years
Willapa Bay / Fearless Fund: Shellfish habitat restoration and sustainable aquaculture
Port Gamble / The Remediators Incorporated: Shellfish enhancement and restoration through a bioremediation water filtration system
Neah Bay / Makah Reservation: Indigenous marine food systems, aquaculture expansion, and cultural marine stewardship

Warm Water Caribbean Demonstration sites:

Sint Maarten for Phase 5 Biodiversity species reporting, team attendance at June UN Conference to present and begin the learning manual for Biodiversity Credits– this is a UN Protocol Mandate- IntelliReefs as Speed to Biodiversity with no maintenance, as a foundational success, not a competition to coral micro fragmentation & coral lab units. We are there to give these additional science projects a success factor, as with global warming
IntelliReefs Caribbean Phase 1-3
- See article "Coral reef rehabilitation following Hurricane Irma using nano-engineered artificial reefs in Sint Maarten"
Tobago Island 600 units casting underway for deployment 2025

Yes, YOU Can Join US!!!

KEY IMPACT AREAS

The Blue Oceans Learning Network and Blue Education Pilot will lay the foundation for rapid global expansion of Coastal Security through Ecosystem Regeneration & Shoreline Resilience by creating visible success stories, building trusted knowledge networks, multiplying environmental/ social/ economic impacts over time and equipping communities with the tools and confidence to deploy Oceanite solutions by:

Accelerating Knowledge: Rapidly sharing innovations, lessons, and success stories from Oceanite projects worldwide.
Expanding Acceptance: Building public, scientific, and community trust in Oceanite through education and high-visibility demonstration sites.
Catalyzing Deployment: Inspiring and equipping communities to design, adapt, and launch new Oceanite-based restoration projects.
Scaling Global Impact: Driving faster and broader use of Oceanite to restore ecosystems, strengthen food security, and build climate resilience.

The faster we spread knowledge, the faster communities can replicate, expand, and scale Oceanite deployments—bringing faster, measurable healing to oceans around the world.

This project supports the following UN SDG goals:

SDG 2: Zero Hunger	Restoring marine food systems through coral, shellfish and seaweed habitat revitalization.
SDG 4-5: Quality Education Gender Equality	Advancing ocean literacy, climate hope, and hands-on restoration learning through Blue Education, particularly for women and the historically marginalized.
SDG 13: Climate Action	Strengthening coastal resilience and promoting blue carbon solutions.
SDG 14: Life Below Water	Rebuilding critical ocean habitats like coral reefs, kelp forests, eelgrass meadows, and salmon ecosystems.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals	Building interdisciplinary global networks across science, Indigenous leadership, and restoration efforts.