Meet Frances Kinney of Ocean Connectors

Today we’d like to introduce you to Frances Kinney.

Frances, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As Executive Director of Ocean Connectors, I lead and develop programs that teach underserved youth about marine science and conservation. My profession is aimed at ensuring future generations have a chance to form a connection with their coastal environment, leading to increased awareness and stewardship.

Ocean Connectors uses migratory marine life to educate, inspire, and connect underserved youth living in communities along the Pacific coast of the U.S. and Mexico. Sea turtles, whales, sharks, and seabirds serve as case studies for teaching about conservation. We focus on the migratory routes of these species as a way to illustrate the interconnectedness of oceans and ecosystems, helping our students form a global view of environmental stewardship.

Growing up in Ojai, California, my love of the environment has always been a guiding force in my life. I knew I would pursue some type of career involving nature, and I found environmental education to be a fulfilling and meaningful way to contribute to the field of ocean conservation. There is an amazing amount of optimism in working with young students, introducing them to the wonders of the sea for the first time and helping spark a lifelong interest in marine science and conservation.

I made my way into this career path through incredible mentorship from brilliant role models, and I think it is up to all of us to help encourage and elevate young people into science and conservation careers. Mentorship has an incredible power to transform and inspire young minds. As scientists, teachers, parents, and conservationists, we can all help catalyze future generations to protect ocean health.

Has it been a smooth road?
Funding is an ongoing challenge for any nonprofit. Ocean Connectors is trying to build our network of donors, the amazing people who support our work by giving any dollar amount, thereby directly contributing to the longevity of our work and mission. We receive financial and in-kind support from a growing network of sponsors, partners, and volunteers, and we always make an effort to identify the most cost-effective solutions and to share resources with other organizations as much as possible.

Another challenge we face is our limited staff size and capacity. All Ocean Connectors employees must “wear many hats” and juggle a variety of different assignments on a daily basis to achieve organizational objectives. As a result, we are sometimes stretched a bit thin, but the whole Ocean Connectors team, and I would imagine everyone who is involved in nonprofit work, cares deeply about this cause, believes wholeheartedly in our mission, and finds the work to be extremely rewarding and important.

One more challenge comes to mind in recent years. While California has generally seen an increase in support for environmental conservation initiatives, such as the plastic bag ban that went into effect in California in 2016, it has been a real challenge for us to witness such instability in the federal government related to environmental protections and regulations. We know we must persevere and that our cause is more important than ever during these tumultuous times.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
The mission of Ocean Connectors is to use migratory marine life to educate, inspire, and connect underserved youth living in Pacific coastal communities. Ocean Connectors was created to address environmental and educational issues in coastal areas, and we have now reached approximately 20,000 children in both the U.S. and Mexico.

While San Diego is widely known as a beautiful, pristine waterfront destination, many local schoolchildren lack access to the coast and to nature and also face poverty, health issues, and academic obstacles. These factors result in deficient environmental awareness and are some of the root causes of environmental destruction and habitat degradation. This inspired me to create Ocean Connectors and led to our vision of Connecting Youth for Conservation. Ocean Connectors is a fiscal sponsorship project of The Ocean Foundation, which plays a critical role in contributing to the strength of our work and allowing us to carry out our programs.

Everyone can get involved with Ocean Connectors through our public Eco Tour program, which includes kayaking, whale watching, and bird watching tours around San Diego Bay. Eco Tours are led by experts in marine conservation and education and include all equipment, admission fees, and transportation. These types of personalized outdoor experiences can’t be found anywhere else. Best of all, a portion of Eco Tours supports the Ocean Connectors mission, helping to raise funds for our free youth programs. That means whenever you take an Eco Tour, you’re helping make these wonderful experiences possible for local schoolchildren! Please visit our website to learn more: http://oceanconnectors.org/eco-tours.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Ocean Connectors engages local schoolchildren in free, hands-on, marine science education programs both in classroom and field settings for consecutive years during third grade through seventh grade. Studies show that these are the most influential years of a child’s life, and we utilize this time to instill our students with a deep love for the oceans and marine life. Our programs are focused in National City, which is located five miles south of downtown San Diego, as well as southern Nayarit, in Mexico. These are two areas where we feel we can make a vital impact on protecting wildlife, restoring coastal habitats, and educating local residents about the environment.

Each year Ocean Connectors students study different environmental topics by focusing on a “case study” animal; as the years go on, students build on their environmental and scientific knowledge. This has the outcome of cultivating their curiosity for the natural world beginning from a young age. People form their core values during childhood and adolescence, thus it is essential that we teach today’s children to understand, appreciate, and explore our coastal environment. The positive impact Ocean Connectors is having on our students’ lives has caused some of them to go on to pursue careers in marine science and conservation, and all of them to live a more sustainable and conscientious lifestyle, which is our ultimate goal.

Pricing:

• Turtles kayaking Eco Tour $35/adult, $25/child
• Whale watching Eco Tour $45/adult, $32/child
• Bird watching Eco Tour $22/adult, $15/child

Contact Info:

• Website: www.oceanconnectors.org
• Phone: 619-336-7744
• Email: info@oceanconnectors.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/OceanConnectors
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/OceanConnectors
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/OceanConnectors
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/ocean-connectors-national-city
• Other: https://youtu.be/Mtxc7YQppIE

Image Credit:
Corinne Klein, Anna Mar

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