Teen L.E.A.D.E.R.S

Lead by Educating with Activities and Demonstrations on the Environment, Resources and Sciences

It was 6:45 AM Monday morning, and 32 teens were loading on a bus for the 3 hour drive that lay ahead of them. But these weren't just any normal teenagers, and this wasn't any normal bus ride. These were FCZ Teen LEADERS, and we were on our way to the Monterey Bay Aquarium!

                        The aquarium welcomed us with open arms- or should I say fins? flippers? tentacles? They have a teen program very similar to ours, focused on sharing messages about why we should care about wildlife and how we can protect our planet. We made this trip to meet them first-hand and share ideas, tour the aquarium, and of course have a lot of fun! The aquarium staff planned an exciting day for us with behind-the-scene tours, walks around the aquarium, icebreaker games, lunch on the beach, and I've got to say, the most entertaining game of beach tag I have ever played!

            According to Teen LEADER Sam, the best part of the day was touring the aquarium with the MBA volunteers. "We got to see all the cool, engaging parts of the aquarium, like the Kelp Forest and new ‘Jellies Experience’ exhibit. It was fun spending the day with teens our own age that share common interests." Another highlight was spending time in their Discovery Lab, where we got hands-on with some underwater critters such as sea stars, urchins and decorator crabs. We even got to feed an abalone its lunch!  

            Our trip to Monterey was definitely one to remember. Teen LEADER Monica knew just how to recap the best parts of her day, "Playing on the beach! Tours! Meeting new people and really getting to know them!" The experience of connecting with and learning from so many others who care about the oceans and the future of our planet was encouraging, energizing, and reminded us all why we volunteer our time to help our environment as Teen LEADERS. 

            This trip, along with all parts of the Teen LEADERS program, was made possible by a grant from The Ocean Project. We would like to thank them for their very generous sponsorship not only to this program, but to other ocean conservation projects world-wide.