In recent decades, scientists have learned a great deal about our oceans. We have mapped vital habitats, tracked how animals live and migrate, and identified and prioritized the threats to marine life. Conservation has also grown from simply protecting species to recognizing how deeply the health of people and oceans are connected.
Yet despite these advances and greater public awareness around ocean conservation, the threats facing our oceans continue to intensify. This challenge led Oceanic Society to embrace a new approach: one that moves beyond awareness alone and harnesses behavioral science as a tool for lasting change.
At the heart of this approach is a simple truth: human behavior is both the main threat to ocean health and our greatest hope for recovery. Oceanic Society now works to impact human behavior on three interconnected fronts:
- Creating meaningful ocean connections through travel experiences
- Building skills in the conservation community to drive behavior change
- Leading science-based campaigns that impact behaviors related to plastic pollution, sustainable seafood, and climate change.
Our Team BEACH network is an important component of this strategy, focused on building the capacity of sea turtle conservationists worldwide to drive behavior change in their communities.
Bridging Awareness and Action
For many conservationists, there comes a key realization at some point in their career: protecting sea turtles, or any species, is not only about understanding the animals–it is about understanding people.
All threats to sea turtles, such as bycatch, take and trade, habitat loss, and plastic pollution, are linked to human behaviors. Traditional conservation approaches have focused heavily on scientific research and public education. While important, those alone rarely drive lasting change.
Human choices are shaped not just by knowledge, but also by culture, economics, social norms, and personal values. By embracing this reality, conservationists can dramatically increase their impact through strategies grounded in behavioral science.
This insight inspired the creation of Team BEACH (BE A CHangemaker), a global effort to help conservationists apply behavioral science to sea turtle conservation challenges.
Building Momentum Through Collaboration
Launched in 2020 and led by Oceanic Society, the State of the World’s Sea Turtles Program (SWOT), Disney Conservation, and Human Nature Group Team BEACH is a global network of conservationists and social scientists committed to developing and sharing strategies that move people from awareness to action.
What began as a small group has blossomed into a worldwide community of practitioners who are pioneering more effective approaches to protecting sea turtles, their habitats, and nearby communities.
How Team BEACH Works
The flagship program of Team BEACH is an annual workshop series, held alongside the International Sea Turtle Symposium (ISTS). Most recently, we gathered in Accra, Ghana, bringing together more than 40 participants from over 20 countries to tackle real-world conservation challenges.
At these workshops, participants learn about behavioral science theories and techniques, then apply them to real-world case studies, such as:
- Reducing sea turtle bycatch mortality in Myanmar fishing communities
- Limiting tourism impacts on nesting beaches in Florida
- Addressing turtle harvesting by coastal communities in Ghana
To ensure broad participation, Oceanic Society, with support from AZA SAFE and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has proudly provided travel support for practitioners who would otherwise be unable to attend. This ensures that diverse voices and perspectives shape the solutions, and provides valuable training and capacity to conservationists working at the front lines.
Beyond workshops, Team BEACH supports the sea turtle conservation community through:
- Webinars on key behavior change topics
- An online library platform of behavior change tools, resources, and case studies
- A dedicated listserv for sharing challenges and solutions
This ongoing support turns one-time training into lasting collaboration.
The Team BEACH Approach
Team BEACH’s work is guided by four pillars:
- Audience Research
We help conservationists understand what truly drives people’s choices, such as their motivations, challenges, and daily realities. This audience research helps them create effective outreach and communications strategies. - Strategic Partnerships
We connect practitioners with social scientists to co-create behavior change strategies and tools tailored to local contexts. - Community Collaboration
We promote direct collaboration with local fishers, tourism operators, and coastal residents to seek solutions that benefit nature and people, viewing them as partners rather than obstacles. - Measuring Impact
We prioritize measuring behavior change outcomes rather than reach or participation numbers. Establishing clear, relevant metrics helps conservationists track progress and adapt strategies to improve their results.
Creating Lasting Impact
What makes Team BEACH unique is its focus on building a global community of practice. Each participant becomes a local changemaker, applying behavioral science to conservation challenges in their own cultural and ecological setting.
By addressing the human dimension of conservation, Team BEACH fosters sustainable relationships between people and sea turtles. This approach respects both ecological importance and cultural traditions, while helping to assure sea turtles’ long-term survival.
A Growing Movement for Ocean Health
The momentum behind Team BEACH signals a promising shift in ocean conservation. By uniting diverse stakeholders, blending behavioral and ecological sciences, and focusing on measurable outcomes, we are finding more effective ways to protect sea turtles and the ocean as a whole.
As we confront global threats like plastic pollution, climate change, and overfishing, behavioral science provides powerful tools to move people from awareness to action. Team BEACH is showing how targeted strategies can address specific challenges while helping improve the health of our oceans.
Join Us
Everyone has a role in protecting our oceans. Through Team BEACH and our other ocean conservation programs, Oceanic Society is helping turn awareness into action for sea turtles and their ocean homes.
Join Oceanic Society’s global community to be a part of the growing movement to protect our oceans.
