Coastal marine ecosystems such as coral reefs can be greatly impacted by processes on land such as human population growth and global markets that lead to changes in climate, land use, and fishing pressure. As the arteries flowing through this landscape into coastal marine systems, rivers and streams serve as a key linkage to understand these connections. To understand coral reef conservation and restoration in this broader context, we applied a macrosystems socio-ecological lens to develop a Ridge to Reefs field course for undergraduate students in Southwestern Puerto Rico. In January 2025, ten students from Middlebury College in Vermont enrolled in the initial offering of this course. Students learned about ecosystem-based restoration of coral reefs, techniques to propagate corals and other key organisms, and the basics of reef organism identification. Students then applied this knowledge to monitor reef restoration projects as well as the impacts of changing land use on stream ecosystems in Puerto Rico. Finally, students completed projects connecting these socio-ecological systems by addressing questions such as how the loss of native diadromous fishes in urban rivers may impact connectivity to reefs, how human development may impact fish-driven nutrient recycling on reefs, and how land use change may affect runoff water quality differently across different regions. We will share vignettes of these projects completed in approximately two weeks time to demonstrate the power of utilizing a range of publicly available data sources. Through these experiences, students developed a new appreciation for the complex factors affecting socio-ecological systems such as coral reefs as well as skills related to scientific communication, collaboration, and field work.