The mission of MERITO (Spanish meaning is "merit" or "worth") is to provide programs and products for our diverse citizens in order to increase their understanding of ocean-related threats within sanctuaries so that our entire community can actively contribute to ocean preservation resulting ultimately in full protection of our special marine resources.

MERITO Goals

MERITO is a consortium of science, education and community service organizations with the following mutual goals:

• To provide a forum for multicultural outreach in the region among schools, universities, marine education organizations, and government agencies
• To increase ocean and watershed awareness and stewardship among diverse youth and families and within community groups
• To increase the number of diverse college students who choose marine science and it's related fields as a career
• To foster participation by diverse community leaders in marine and coastal management issues

Overarching Goal & Audiences

The MERITO program is committed to providing programs and materials geared for our diverse multicultural communities. With limited resources, the initial focus for the first year was developing partnerships with Spanish-speaking residents and visitors, as they represent the largest multicultural population in the Central Coast region. With full funding and implementation of MERITO, we plan to address additional multilingual and multicultural communities that reside in the Central Coast area, and eventually the entire California region.