Monthly Round-Up

APRIL 2026 AT A GLANCE

ABL Programme

April Activities and Learnings

This month, our Adventure-Based Learning (ABL) trainees began their facilitator training block, a key phase focused on building the skills needed to guide safe, engaging, and meaningful ocean experiences. With an emphasis on communication, awareness, and group facilitation, the training supports trainees in recognising and responding to the needs of the children they work with. Alongside this, the group has been working through interactive exercises, icebreakers, and experiential learning activities that build trust, encourage participation, and strengthen group cohesion.

The ABLs also took part in an entrepreneurship workshop with Calibur Games, exploring leadership, decision-making, and the fundamentals of running a business through hands-on, game-based learning.

I AM WATER Team

Human-Centred Design Thinking

Our team participated in a Human-Centred Design (HCD) workshop facilitated by Cristin Marona. Rooted in listening and understanding the needs, aspirations, and realities of the people at the centre of a challenge, HCD offers a framework for shaping solutions that are both meaningful and practical. Through exploring barriers, surfacing opportunities, and testing ideas, it provides a structured way to navigate complexity.

Through the workshop, we explored how this approach holds strong relevance in fields such as conservation and social justice, where outcomes are shaped by people, relationships, and systems. Drawing from examples in public health, the session also highlighted how behavioural insights can support more thoughtful approaches to participation, trust, decision-making, and long-term impact.

For us, this process reinforced something we already hold as central to our work: that meaningful change begins with deep listening — not only to what communities need, but to what they value, what they aspire to, and what they face.

Advocacy

I AM WATER at ChangeNOW 2026

We took part in the ChangeNOW Summit in Paris, joining a global community working towards practical solutions for environmental and social challenges. Throughout the week, we contributed to conversations on ocean access, education, collaboration, and the role of diverse voices in shaping the future of ocean conservation.

OCEAN FOR ALL Alliance

Ecuador Training

Members of our team departed for Ecuador to begin in-person training with 12 organisations joining the OCEAN FOR ALL Alliance. Following a series of online sessions, this next phase will support partners in applying the Ocean Connection Methodology within their own coastal communities.

Our Programmes and Experiences

Ocean Connection in Practice

We shared a number of ocean connection experiences this month, including time with Cape Town Swim through the Distance to Depth collaboration, and a tidal pool session with the Blue Fin Learn to Swim Programme. These experiences created space to slow down, observe, and engage more deeply with the ocean environment.