Marine Resources Development Foundation has its roots in the Caribbean. It was founded in the US Virgin Islands in 1970, shortly after Ian Koblick finished managing the Tektite II project. He moved the Foundation to Puerto Rico and carried out the Puerto Rico International Undersea Laboratory Project (PRINUL). When he realized that not enough people were aware of the importance of a healthy ocean, he moved the Foundation to Key Largo Florida and developed what is the present-day MarineLab program.

The Foundation emphasizes teacher education as being crucial to improving student knowledge and over the years, MRDF has facilitated and presented teacher workshops in its MarineLab program to teachers from all over the US and around the world. In 2022, thanks to a generous donation from the Ocean Conservation Exploration Education Foundation (OCEEF), we provided scholarships for 9 educators from seven different Caribbean nations to attend our Citizen Science/Service Learning workshop in July 2022. In 2023, an additional 13 teachers from around the Caribbean basin participated in our summer teacher workshop.

The Adam Taylor Fund provides support to continue offering this program. The teacher workshop fee is $1000 per teacher, which includes meals and accommodations for the week plus the night before and/or night after, and all field trips and educational activities. We also provide limited travel assistance, but the individuals are primarily responsible for their transportation to the US.

Learn more about MarineLab’s teacher workshops.