OAN + Juaneno Tribe: Waterways to Ocean

Adopt-a-Class Waterways to Ocean Stewardship Program

Ocean Alliance Network + Juaneno Band of Mission Indians is developing an Adopt-a-Class Waterways to Ocean Stewardship Program in partnership with USC Dornsife Wrigley Insititute and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Designed for students in grades 3–5, the program helps students understand how what happens in our homes, schools, streets, and watersheds affects our drinking water, local waterways, Newport Beach, Catalina, and the Pacific Ocean.

Students will experience:

Pre-trip classroom assembly covering Indigenous history, culture, and land and ocean stewardship; clean drinking water; watershed-to-ocean connections; water conservation; plastic reduction; recycling; sustainable seafood and responsible food sourcing; marine conservation; and career pathways in water, marine science, sustainability, conservation, environmental engineering, media, and related fields.
Dedicated ocean education field trip from Newport Beach Harbor with onboard naturalists, educators, Indigenous leaders, and community experts. Students will learn about marine ecosystems, healthy waterways, coastal stewardship, ocean conservation, and the connections between land, water, and the ocean while meeting professionals working in these fields.
Post-experience student impact project where students capture what they learned through presentations, videos, artwork, or storytelling and identify actions they can take in their schools, homes, and communities.
Student-led presentations where participating classes share their experience and call to action with fellow students, teachers, parents, and invited community leaders.

A key goal is to give students a platform to use their voices and become catalysts for awareness and positive change, while reinforcing career pathways in conservation, government, media, business, water, and sustainability.

Students can be recognized and rewarded for leadership, creativity, storytelling, environmental impact, and career exploration, reinforcing that their ideas, talents, and future opportunities matter.

Assemblies and field trips can include leaders from the Juaneño/Acjachemen community, USC, regional water agencies, city government, local media, coastal organizations, the surf industry, influencers, and brand sponsors, giving students direct exposure to the people and professions shaping the future of our water and coast.

Ocean Alliance Network envisions a broad collaboration including USC Sea Grant, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, local water agencies, waste management organizations, local city leaders, coastal stakeholders, media, and brand partners.

The goal is to begin with San Juan Capistrano-area students, including Juaneño/Acjachemen youth, and build a scalable model that can expand to additional schools and coastal communities—empowering students to learn, experience, share, lead, explore future careers, and inspire the next generation of water and ocean stewards.

Adopt A Class Waterways to Ocean

Connecting Students to Water, Land & Ocean Stewardship & Future Careers