What Will Parents Pay for Hands-on Ocean Conservation and Stewardship Education?

Supported by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the Ocean Guardian School (OGS) program is a federally funded grant program coordinated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. OGS supports the educational goals of national marine sanctuaries (NMS) by funding hands-on ocean conservation and stewardship programs in both public and private schools. Schools apply for grants (up to $4,000) to implement school- or community-based conservation projects to educate students, while contributing to the health and protection of local watersheds and the world’s ocean. This study is the first to estimate the value that parents have for their child’s participation in an ocean conservation and stewardship program. Using a contingent choice survey, changes to student behaviour, parents’ support for the OGS program and the non-market economic value to parents of the six program attributes are estimated.