Ocean Education & Youth
The tengefu is our living classroom - welcoming schools, interns, and youth groups to learn real conservation. 10,000+ young people educated in ocean literacy in Kilifi County.
The tengefu - the protected space - is Oceans Alive's living classroom. Each year, more than 2,500 students, interns, and young people come to Kuruwitu to learn real marine conservation, not from textbooks, but from the reef itself.
Schools from across Kilifi County visit the sanctuary for guided learning days. Children snorkel above coral gardens, learn to identify reef species, and hear from community divers about what the reef looked like before - and what it looks like now. It's ocean literacy rooted in living evidence.
The internship programme brings aspiring conservationists from Kenya and around the world to train alongside OAF staff. They leave with practical skills in reef monitoring, community engagement, and marine governance - and many go on to build careers in conservation.
Programme
Ocean Education & Youth
Education · Programme 05
The reef as a classroom - children discovering marine life at Kuruwitu
Ocean literacy sessions at the Kuruwitu marine sanctuary
International and Kenyan interns gaining hands-on conservation experience
“When a child grows up protecting the ocean, it is protected for a generation. When they teach their children, it is protected forever.”
- Ocean Education Programme
Connected Work
Related Programmes
Coral Reef Restoration
Kenya's most active community-led coral nursery. 25,000+ colonies hand-planted since 2019. Local fishers trained and employed as reef gardeners.
Capacity Building & Training
Marine governance, protected area management, and ecological monitoring training. Building the human infrastructure that makes conservation last beyond project cycles and individual funders.
Research & Monitoring
Ecological baselines, fish biomass surveys, and coral cover assessments. The evidence base that underpins every programme and every policy recommendation OAF makes.
Support This Programme
Your donation directly funds conservation work on Kenya's coast.