Venezuela Blue Schools

Blue School Coordinator: Nelsy Rivero

Contact email: nelsyriveroparedes@gmail.com

Organization/Institution: Universidad Maritima del Caribe

Role Position: Docente/Profesora

 

Biography

Nelsy is a biologist with a master’s degree in Biological Sciences and a PhD in Human Development Ecology. She was a high school teacher and has been a university professor for over 25 years. Her work has focused on training students, fishermen, and the wider community. For the past three years, she has led the Caravana Ecológica (Ecological Caravan), a “train-the-trainer” initiative introducing environmental concepts in coastal states of Venezuela. The program aims to promote environmental education about marine and coastal ecosystems among children, youth, and both formal and informal educators in potentially tourist-oriented coastal areas. Through this project, she has visited eight schools and reached a total of 575 participants, including students, teachers, artisans, and fishermen. Her mission is to expand ocean literacy across communities, raising awareness of the vital role oceans play in our lives.

Current status of Blue Schools:

In Venezuela, the Blue Schools program currently includes three active schools engaging 180 students in ocean literacy initiatives. These efforts address key themes such as marine biodiversity, ocean and climate change, plastic pollution, coastal resilience, sustainable fisheries, ocean culture and traditional knowledge, the blue economy, and marine protected areas. The main challenges faced are ensuring project continuity without stable funding and maintaining commitments to the communities involved.