Youth Ocean Conservation Summit

03/12/2026

Celebrating the impact of the 12th annual Savannah Youth Ocean Conservation Summit hosted by UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant last month!

11/16/2025

Celebrating 15 years of the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit!

This weekend, we united over 100 young ocean advocates and community mentors at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium for an unforgettable day of learning, leadership, and action.

From hands-on workshops and inspiring speakers to project planning and peer collaboration, YOCS continues to empower the next generation of ocean leaders. We’re incredibly proud of this community - and grateful to our participants, speakers, volunteers, partners, and sponsors who have brought this program to life over the past 15 years.

Here’s to the passion, creativity, and dedication these young conservationists bring to protecting our blue planet.

10/31/2025

Register TODAY for the 2025 Youth Ocean Conservation Summit!

Join us on November 15th at Mote Science Education Aquarium for a day full of educational workshops, collaboration, and youth-led action to protect our ocean. 🐠💙

This is YOUR chance to:
✔️ Meet other teens passionate about conservation
✔️ Learn from experts and leaders
✔️ Build projects that make a real impact 🌎

Spots fill up fast, so grab yours today! Register now 👉🔗 https://www.yocs.org/2025-summit

The 15th annual Youth Ocean Conservation Summit will take place at Mote Science Education Aquarium (SEA) on Saturday, November 15, 2025. This special event will unite young ocean leaders, providing...

09/12/2024

Help support youth driven ocean conservation action! Our online auction fundraiser is LIVE at: https://app.galabid.com/yocs2024. Bidding is open until Tuesday, September 17 at 5pm EDT and all proceeds benefit our YOCS mini-grant program supporting the work of young ocean advocates!

Bid on exciting items including an animal encounter at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, gift certificates from Finpinshop and Cape Clasp, tickets to SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica Orlando, a virtual leadership session and signed book from author Julie C. Henry, YOCS swag from Klean Kanteen, books by Dr. Ellen Prager, and more!

08/13/2024

Registration is OPEN for the 2024 Youth Ocean Conservation Summit taking place on Saturday, September 14 at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota, FL! Young ocean leaders are invited to Seas the Future at this special event to develop plans for solutions oriented ocean conservation projects in their local communities. Space is limited - register today at http://www.yocs.org/2024-summit!

05/01/2024

Join our team! We’re growing our Youth Ocean Conservation Summit leadership team with opportunities for young ocean advocates in the following roles:

📲Social Media and Communications Team: Drive our social media presence and help highlight the stories of impact from the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit program and our participants.

📣 Satellite Summit Coordinator: Lead our efforts to support and expand our satellite Youth Ocean Conservation Summits in communities around the world!

Interested in these ? Send us a DM to learn more! 🌊

04/28/2024

Celebrating 10 years of the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit in Savannah, GA with UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea!

The Youth Ocean Conservation Summit (YOCS) has been a driving force in educating students of all ages about environmental conservation. The main goal of YOCS is simple: to equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills needed to protect... Full story

04/13/2024

Today at the 2024 Youth Ocean Conservation Summit the participants engaged in 2 informational and engaging breakout sessions. One about communicating science through social media, and the other about building solutions in relation to oyster restoration!

04/13/2024

Virginia Youth Ocean Conservation Summit 2024

Today, at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center was the 2024 YOCS! A bunch of teens came together to share their passion for saving our oceans by engaging in many activities, listening to some insightful people, and even creating action plans of their own!

Pictured:
1) Welcoming everyone to the summit!
2) All of the Environmental Justice Teens/Youth Facilitators that planned and hosted the summit.
From left to right; Bella Masson, Aubrey Moore, Taylor Allen, Madison Espiritu, and Anna Orchard-Hays
3) The EJT’s, Staff, and Volunteers that helped facilitate the summit
4) The participants of the summit
5) Chris Freeman giving a presentation about biodiversity in Virginia
6) Lexi Bradshaw and Molly Jones giving a presentation on their conservation projects
7) Participants presenting their ocean conservation action plan
8) Participants watching their call to action
9) Participants working on their action plans
10) Participants pledging to protect the ocean

02/25/2024

The first satellite YOCS of 2024 is in the books! In Savannah, students from around Georgia spent yesterday listening to inspiring ocean conservation leaders, participating in hands-on activities, and collaborating on projects related to ocean conservation in their communities.

The Savannah YOCS committee would like to thank our speakers, our volunteers, our sponsors, our staff, and of course, the students! We could not have had such an amazing day without y’all!

Thank you and see you next year! 🌊

02/14/2024

We’re kicking off this year’s Youth Ocean Conservation Summits in Savannah, GA on February 24 with the 10th anniversary hosted by .uga! This sold out event will unite youth from across the region to explore the theme of coastal resilience as they develop action plans for their own ocean conservation projects. Follow along for more updates as we gear up for this special event!

10/24/2023

Group photos, workshops, and action planning oh my!
YOCS Puget Sound 2023 in the books!