Small-scale fishing communities are navigating mounting social and ecological challenges—from climate change and overfishing to youth outmigration and marginalization in decision-making. These pressures deeply shape the aspirations of rural youth, many of whom feel disconnected from their communities and uncertain about their future roles. Our research explores how young people’s aspirations in small-scale fishing villages are influenced by their lived experiences, sense of place, and capacity to imagine and co-create sustainable futures. Through our participatory sessions, youth are invited to nurture powerful relationships with the spaces, characters, and actions that shape daily life in their natural and built environments. These encounters help surface the invisible threads of care, kinship, and interdependence that connect people, oceans, and land. Through Coast 2 Coast activities, children and teens develop their voices and ideas while radically reimagining their dreams as intertwined with the well-being of nature and rural society. We investigate how immersive, emotionally resonant, and collaborative educational experiences can strengthen social-ecological relationships and inspire young people to step into leadership roles grounded in empathy and responsibility. We hypothesize that place-based curricula rooted in wonder and connection foster the kinds of trust and belonging that spark pro-environmental behaviors and long-term investment in community well-being. By nurturing youth connections with peers, elders, and ecosystems, we aim to co-create pathways where rural youth feel proud of their roots and empowered to contribute to resilient, thriving futures.