It's one thing to teach a student and it's another for them to learn. At the Reef Rescue School, we are implementing our innovative approach to student learning based upon three core principles.
Human health is connected to our relationship with nature. This program provides students with exciting adventures that ignite their desire to explore the outdoors and care for our natural world.
We believe that youth need the opportunity to choose a path for themselves and our program does exactly that. Student experiences at the Reef Rescue School go beyond fun and play, we activate their survival instincts and support them in establishing compassionate bonds with animals, nature and their peers.
A missing link in modern day child development is growth through adversity and achievement. Overcoming difficulty is a fundamental building block in the development of our students and a core component of every single experience at the Reef Rescue School. Our students learn to overcome challenges and develop positive self confidence as a result.
In 2018, while filming a National Geographic Documentary about the Mesoamerican Reef in the Mayan Riviera, Pangaea's Founder, Brandon S. Lewis, began a deep dive into understanding why, despite all the effort and money being spent, the coral reefs are still dying. He went scuba diving with reef scientists, explored the National Parks and learned about the interdependent relationship between human survival, the local economy, and the value placed on the reef. When it came to conservation of the reef he learned that progress was often measured by effort and not results; and, the role of humans in harming the reef was rarely, if ever a topic of discussion.
Along his journey, Brandon discovered many of the same issues that plague conservation efforts in other parts of the world that ultimately inhibit success. However, in the small fishing village of Puerto Morelos, Mexico, he found something special––a severely damaged, but still standing middle school campus on the shores of the reef. Even better, this campus was on the banks of a National Park, though the campus was targeted for closure and demolition to build a hotel. It was during this time that Brandon had met Robin Brown, a local expat and local business owner that lived across the street from the school. Together, the two began working together to build community support to prevent the demolition of the campus. Brandon led the legal defense and worked with government agencies to preserve the campus while Robin began gathering local citizen supporters.
As of 2021, we are happy to say that Pangaea has successfully restored critical infrastructure from hurricane damage, the middle school has reopened, and Pangaea was given a large area of the campus to reopen the Reef Rescue School where we have graduated several classes of Reef Camp students. Given the ongoing threats to the campus from developers, hurricanes, corruption, and lack of funding from the Mexican government, Pangaea has assumed the role of funder and protector of the campus so we can continue to change the lives of impoverished youth and the future survivability of the Mesoamerican Reef.
Below are the three ingredients that are mission critical to rescue the Mesoamerican Reef.
Outdoor education must be accessible to students all over the world. The Reef Rescue School is the first attempt to introduce this concept into a Mexican Public or Private School.
Youth must become connected with protecting nature at a young age. The Reef Rescue School places students at the front and center of conservation initiatives.
Humans must change their behavior to save the reefs and there is no way around this. By providing local youth with paying jobs in restoration and conservation we can accelerate the reefs regeneration.
