Seven “Science on the Gulf” workshops in gulf counties around Florida will provide students with some of the best science educational resources available in their regions. The workshops are funded through a Gulf of Mexico Alliance grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama. They are designed to assist public schools with their workloads and accountability measures and will be conducted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Office of Environmental Education (OEE).
Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Environmental Education Takes First Place Gulf Guardian Award
Left to right: Becky Prado with DEP’s Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas; Misty Alderman, OEE; and Stan Meiburg, Deputy Regional Administrator for EPA Region 4 in Atlanta, Georgia
The Florida Department of Environmental Education’s (DEP) Office of Environmental Education (OEE) recently received the First Place Gulf Guardian Award for the Environmental Justice/Cultural Diversity category through the Gulf of Mexico Program. Through OEE’s Learning in Florida’s Environment (LIFE) Program, DEP staff developed unique tools to better match educational programs with the cultural diversity of students, in addition to prioritizing underserved groups.
In addition to these initiatives, the OEE serves on the Underserved and Underrepresented Populations Working Group of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Environmental Education Network. The LIFE Choctawhatchee Bay and Big Cypress Watershed projects and the multi-state Gulf of Mexico Alliance Partnership project targets students from groups underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math to facilitate a more diverse workforce and to increase environmental literacy.
Florida receives three education mini grants from the Gulf of Mexico Alliance
News Update - Florida has received three education mini grants from the Gulf of Mexico Alliance:
Santa Rosa County, Florida School District- Expanding Conservation through Education at the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station http://www.navarresciencestation.org/
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Tabitha Whalen Stadler, Coastal Training Coordinator, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
What is the Environmental Education Team doing? Our diverse network of educators are sharing successful environmental education projects and coordinating a Gulfwide campaign to reduce nutrient inputs caused by people's activities on land.
Why? Environmental education is an important tool in protecting the Gulf. If we can use social science to understand beliefs, attitudes and behaviors, we can deliver educational messages that are relevant in the lives of Gulf community members.
What does this Alliance Team call itself? Environmental Education
Speaker: Tabitha Stadler, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Hi, my name is Tabitha Stadler and I work at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Naples, which is in Southwest, Florida. I am the Coastal Training Coordinator and I am an education and outreach specialist and I am actively working on behalf of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance.
So I was fortunate enough to be at the first ever meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance which was held back in June 2005 where the heads of the environmental agencies from all five Gulf of Mexico States - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida met with about a dozen different federal agencies.
They sat together in an historic moment and worked on an agreement to collaborate on behalf of the Gulf of Mexico and to really manage it as a single ecosystem. And because each state surrounding the Gulf of Mexico has different issues and different communities and values, this idea of managing together through communication and collaboration is really unprecedented.
As an educator, my hope is that other states will join the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. That's because 41% of all the water flowing to the coasts in the US is going into the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico. This means people as far away as western Pennsylvania and eastern Montana are making decisions about the water quality in the Gulf of Mexico.
So our group of educators has come together, and they are a diverse group. They are classroom teachers, but they are also teachers who work with fisherman, or landscapers and we are seeking ways to provide science-based information about how just minimal changes in behavior can basically protect the environmental and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico.
There are so many "services" that the Gulf offers. I think seafood is one of my favorite. There's lots of statistics - but Gulf seafood - 1.3 billion pounds of seafood come out of the Gulf of Mexico every year. And it's not just food, its jobs and quality of life, and I think it's that boating and marine culture that I think a lot of us really love here in Florida. So I am hoping that no matter where you are, you think about the Gulf of Mexico and that water quality. I hope we can work together, protect this body of water and really continue to thrive from all that the Gulf of Mexico, you know, all that it has to offer us.
A hot summer in the south often drives Gulf Coast residents to open their refrigerators for cold drinks and other goodies to stay cool. But refrigerators use about 14 percent of a home’s energy use - more than any other kitchen or cleaning appliance. Making your fridge more energy efficient is one easy way to conserve environmental resources and your money. Other tips to keep it cool include:
Back-to-school shopping has become a rite of passage for many students and parents - this year alone Americans will spend an estimated $68 billion on back-to-school supplies!
However, producing materials uses energy and may even pollute the environment. Luckily, a new school year doesn’t have to mean new everything. While some new purchases are necessary, others might be avoided by simply reusing, repurposing or renovating existing supplies - so a little creativity can go a long way. Here are some ideas to save money and support a healthy Gulf environment.
Landscape Businesses Favor Florida DEP’s Green Industries-Best Management Practices
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Ask any landscaper in Florida if their job has changed over the past several years and they will undoubtedly say yes. Under legislative direction, the state’s landscaping industry, and particularly fertilizer application, has evolved into a process that requires training in DEP’s Green Industries-Best Management Practices (GI-BMPs) program to ensure that our water quality is protected.
Training for the GI-BMP program is coordinated regionally by three DEP/Coastal and Aquatic Managed Area sites around Florida: Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in the northwest region, Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR in the northeast region and Rookery Bay NERR in the south region. To date more than 200 professionals have been certified to teach the program in English or Spanish and are tasked with training nearly 100,000 landscapers statewide over the next three years.
Did you know that five of the world’s seven species of sea turtles live in the Gulf of Mexico? Leatherback, loggerhead, green, Kemp’s ridley, and hawksbill turtles can all be found in Gulf waters or along Gulf Coast beaches. And every year, nesting sea turtles visit Florida’s shores. Check out these links to learn about local sea turtle satellite tracking projects and follow our graceful friends through Gulf waters!
Stay in the swim – Learn about the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s Keewaydin Island loggerhead tracking project!
On 9 June, the U.S. Department of Commerce and NOAA released new national sustainable marine aquaculture policies. The new policies focus on fostering sustainable aquaculture that increases the value of domestic aquaculture production, advancing sustainable aquaculture science and ensuring aquaculture decisions protect wild species and healthy coastal and ocean ecosystems.
Developing sustainable aquaculture compatible with other uses and working to remove foreign trade barriers and enforcing U.S. trade agreements are also priorities. Along with its new policy, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced additional steps to support the development of the aquaculture industry, including a National Shellfish Initiative in partnership with the shellfish industry to increase commercial production of shellfish and a Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Plan for Aquaculture, which would include the regulatory infrastructure needed for offshore aquaculture development in the Gulf.
LIFE - Big Cypress Watershed Students Explore Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
More than 500 students from three Collier County middle schools gathered at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) this past month. The field experience here marks the final of three that LIFE students participated in for the school year which included field studies at school and at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge helping them to learn about the Big Cypress Watershed. Students were able to explore their natural environment and develop science skills through the hands-on field labs. At Rookery Bay, they learned about the physical characteristics and adaptations for three crab species found within the reserve, explored the half-mile trail where a controlled burn was recently conducted, and collected plankton samples from the dock to examine under a microscope.
Manatee Middle School LIFE Program teacher Jenny Maloney, who brought more than 200 seventh grade students to the NERR said, "The LIFE Program gives students the chance to examine environmental factors that directly impact them and in turn, they become aware of their actions that directly impact the environment."
Reduce waste, protect air quality, conserve water and protect water quality…it sounds overwhelming. But think about this for some motivation…one drop per second from a leaky faucet wastes 2,700 gallons of water every year. And just an extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your car’s MPG by up to two percent! Repairing a leaky faucet or removing extra pounds from your car helps protect the environment and also saves you money. Check out a few easy actions for your home that benefit your budget, your health and your planet.
Why is the Gulf of Mexico so important? The Gulf of Mexico region provides the Nation with valuable energy resources, abundant seafood, extraordinary beaches and leisure activities, and a rich cultural heritage. The robust economy of the Gulf of Mexico provides jobs for more than 20 million people. The major commercial fishing ports of the region bring in over 1.2 billion pounds of fresh seafood every year
What can you tell me about the Gulf of Mexico? The U.S. portion of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico totals 47,000 miles of beaches, barrier islands, wetlands and inland bays. The Gulf has an area of approximately 580,000 square miles with an average depth of 5,299 feet.
Is the Gulf of Mexico in trouble? One serious problem in the Gulf of Mexico is an area off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas called the Dead Zone. This refers to an area of water that is low in dissolved oxygen, called hypoxia by researchers. Low dissolved oxygen in the Gulf means that aquatic life, such as fish and shellfish, might not have enough to survive. While hypoxia can occur naturally, it is often an indication that too many nutrients
Fun Fact: How many U.S. States border the Gulf of Mexico?
from human-caused sources are running from the land into the water. Rainwater that hits streets and roofs moves downhill towards water bodies that eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico. This water, called stormwater, often contains excessive amounts of phosphorous and nitrogen which are nutrients and act like vitamins for the sea. Too many vitamins causes' massive blooms of plants called algae. These plants use up the oxygen and die leaving no oxygen for other forms of sea life.
What are you doing about the Dead Zone? Researchers have been studying the Dead Zone since the 1970s and have determined that it ranges in size from 15 to 8,500 square miles and is seasonal. Numerous federal, state and local governments have established laws, best practices and educational campaigns to reduce nutrient inputs to the Gulf of Mexico. Since this is a large and complex problem, the steps taken by every individual who lives on or near the Gulf coast makes a difference. Think about the activities you do on a daily basis and consider the Gulf of Mexico and its importance to your life and community. Care for yards, parks and green spaces by using the appropriate amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides. Follow labels with precision, because excess treatment of plants will result in wasted money and possible leaching into groundwater or runoff into the Gulf.
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