TRAINING Inspiring a Generation of Ocean Advocates Through the CARES Youth Diving Program – by Kramer Wimberley, Board of Directors DWP/DWP-CARES Wimberley is the Founder of the DWP-CARES Initiative and a Master Scuba Diver Trainer and Scientific Diver. His work focuses on integrating advanced scientific restoration techniques with youth development, currently leading the expansion of the CARES program to establish the Florida Keys and Caribbean Basin as critical carbon sequestration centers.
The fate of our planet’s climate is inextricably linked to the health of the ocean, yet the most critical link – human behavior – often re- mains the least addressed variable in climate mitigation strategies. For over a decade, the Diving With a Purpose (DWP) Collective Ap- proach to Restoring our Ecosys-
pose devastating pressures. Every year, we are responsible for dumping staggering amounts of pollutants into our wa- ters, including approximately 7 million tons of plastic and debris. Simultaneously, our industrial activity pumps roughly 3.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every second of every day, driving ocean acidification and warming that threaten the very calcification process corals need to survive. The urgency of this crisis requires a radical shift in perspective and action, and that shift must be led by those who will inherit the consequences: the youth. The CARES program provides this immediate, hands-on op- portunity to engage with the solution, transforming abstract climate fear into concrete environmental action. The Four Guiding Principles of the CARES Model
tems (CARES) Youth Program has been systematically closing this gap. CARES does not merely educate; it mobi- lizes, equipping underrepresented youth with the profes- sional diving skills, scientific knowledge, and powerful voice needed to transition from being passive observers of cli-
mate change to becoming the next generation of active ocean advocates and marine scien- tists.
The success of the CARES Youth Program is built upon four intercon- nected guiding principles that ensure participants graduate with a holistic understanding of environ- mental stewardship, from community engagement to direct mitigation. 1. Community Out- reach and Education: The first principle is
Our mission is clear: to in- spire youth development by supporting the CARES mis- sion to convert the coral reef ecosystem – currently in de- cline across the Florida Keys and the entire Caribbean Basin – into a massive coral nursery, a vital carbon sequestration center, and a focal point for sustainable research and investment. The Ocean: A Call to Action and an Educational Im- perative The ocean’s role in planetary stability cannot be over- stated. It is the primary global life support system, generat- ing over 50% of the world’s oxygen, providing a massive source of protein for over a billion people, and acting as a natural barrier that protects over 90,000 miles of coastline from storm energy. Furthermore, its biodiversity is on the cutting edge of next-generation medical research, offering compounds essential for human health. Despite its critical importance, humanity continues to im-
Event at the the History of Diving Museum. DWP Website.
rooted in communication and awareness. We train youth from across the country and a growing number of Caribbean Islands – including Barbados, Costa Rica, Hon- duras, and Panama – to become skilled communicators. Par- ticipants learn to translate complex ecological data and climate statistics into compelling messages for their peers, families, and communities. They disseminate information about the profound threats posed by plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, empowering local communities to recognize their own role in the global crisis and the local solutions that are available. This outreach component is essential, as it establishes the social foundation necessary for all subsequent physical
FORTY-TWO | SCUBA DIVING INDUSTRY
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