At the end of the two weeks, the forty-eight third-graders and eighteen burka-clad mothers who had come each day for lessons put on masks, fins and snorkels and, for many of them, were for a first time able to see the water world below the surface. Like many corners of Planet Ocean the Maldives suffer from a variety of ills, mostly manmade: Overfishing. Plastic pollution. Rising sea levels due to a warming ocean. And acidification. Teaching these incredible families to swim was hopefully a first step towards encouraging them to be even better guardians.

I have long been surprised when we travel along the world’s coastlines to discover just how many people who grow up just a few feet above sea level are never taught to properly swim. And what we have witnessed, from the Maldives to the Bahamas, New York City to Dubrovnik, is that if you don’t get “in” the water it is very hard to imagine protecting it.

Our hope with the “Sink or Swim” was to both promote using the ocean, but also taking better care of it.