Ahead of the Class: Florida Sea Grant Delivers Marine Education
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Home: Investing in Coastal and Marine Education	Community Education	Industry Education	Scientific and Professional Education
Agency and Organization Education	Formal K-12 Education	Youth Education

Youth Education
Florida Sea Grant's youth education programs might be defined by some as "informal" education; that is, education that it is not diploma oriented, nor does it lead to a degree. In most cases, Sea Grant youth education is operating within some sort of educational system, and is both an important part of some broader activity and intended to serve identifiable learning objectives. More often than not, these efforts include a pre- and post-test to measure the amount of learning that was achieved. Some examples of the way that Sea Grant teaches youth are through organized 4-H programs such as marine science camps and a statewide marine ecology contest, participation in the Florida Science and Engineering Fair as judges and through organized field trips to plant sea oats to restore and stabilize coastal dunes.


Coastal Counties Involve Thousands of Youth
At any given moment, Florida Sea Grant's county extension faculty may be running beach and coastal cleanups, marine youth camps, or interactive exhibits at schools, fairs and special events. These programs involve thousands of youngsters in hands-on activities that help foster an appreciation for the coastal environment. Often Sea Grant faculty work through organizations such as 4-H, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, or serve as the local liaison for a nationwide or statewide effort, or organize their own long-standing event that has become a community tradition.

Monofilament recycling and beach clean-ups - Many of Florida Sea Grant's marine agents serve as local coordinators for beach stewardship programs in their areas. The state's monofilament recycling effort has proven to be especially popular with youth. In Brevard County, 80 students from one local high school constructed approximately 100 monofilament collection bins, then distributed them to Clean Marinas around the state.

Scott Jackson, Sea Grant agent for Okaloosa and Walton counties helped his local 4-H teen council initiate a monofilament recycling program for the surrounding communities. The group raised funds and then set up information displays and recycling bins throughout the county. They also built and set up bins at the local 4-H coastal youth camp, and conducted a beach cleanup.

To the south, more than 40 Boy Scouts and their parents in Miami-Dade county volunteered with the Sea Grant agent, Marella Crane, to build, install and maintain monofilament recycling bins. Two in the group received Eagle Scout badges for their role; in all, more than 20 bins were installed at county and state parks, marinas, and fishing piers.

Maia McGuire, the northeast Florida Sea Grant agent, held a poster contest to raise awareness of monofilament recycling. Winning posters were displayed at the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair, and featured in a 2004 recycling calendar.

Teaching recreational fishing - Don Sweat, the southwest central marine extension agent, has organized the annual St. Petersburg Pier Aquarium Kid's Fishing Tournament for more than 16 years. The tournament attracts some 500 to 600 youth under 12. Trophies, lunch and drinks are provided through sponsorships of more than $9,000. In one tournament, the kids caught 23 species of fish from the pier.

The Lee County Sea Grant extension agent, Bob Wasno, has constructed an educational two-panel kiosk depicting fundamental fishing techniques at the Yankee Beach Fishing Pier to teach children about species of fish that may be caught in that area, typical baits and lures that are successful for their targeted species, and fundamental knots and landing techniques that minimize fish injury. He also holds a sport fishing camp for 4-H youth to teach casting, tackle crafting, local pond biology, fish cleaning and equipment maintenance.

Oceans Day in the Capitol
Kids stole the show when winners of a Florida Sea Grantsponsored poster contest converged on Tallahassee as part of the 2003 observance of Oceans Day in the state capitol. Florida 4-H members shared their artistic impressions of why it's important to protect coastal habitat by submitting colorful drawings of ocean-related subjects. Winners selected from among more than 80 contestants earned a trip to Tallahassee to meet their state legislator. One legislator escorted the group on a tour of the Capitol House Chambers. The winning entries were published and distributed by Florida Sea Grant as an Oceans Day 2003 commemorative poster.

Resource Rangers
Sea Grant agents Andrew Diller and Chris Verlinde assist in writing, providing technical advice, and appearing in the awardwinning Resource Rangers television show that airs on WUWF-TV Cox Channel 4 in Escambia County and on MediaCom Channel 27 in Santa Rosa County. Episode topics include watersheds, storm water pollution, seagrasses, and the water cycle. Resource Rangers is a curriculum-based program that includes classroom activities, field trips and a series of videos focusing on environmental education for grades 5-8 and their families. Diller and Verlinde have also teamed to conduct 4-H and youth educational events under the Resource Rangers program for five elementary schools in their region. Approximately 300 children learned about sea turtles, marine debris, and coastal dune and aquatic ecosystems.


Marine Science Camps, Competitions
Sea Grant's Florida Panhandle marine agents - Diller, Verlinde, Jackson, and Bill Mahan - routinely provide youth education in marine concepts and issues at Camp Timpoochee, a 4-H center where an annual state marine camp, and county marine camp programs are offered. The program gives campers first-hand experience with Florida's marine environment, learning identification of marine vertebrates and invertebrates, plants and habitat. About 20 kids a week choose the marine science camp adventure as part of their summer experience.

The northeast marine extension agent, Maia McGuire, has helped revise and provide materials for the 4-H Marine Ecology Judging Event, an annual statewide competition that gives 4-H members an opportunity to learn about the marine and aquatic world. Kids can demonstrate their skills in identification of marine vertebrates and invertebrates, plants, and coastal habitats. McGuire and Brevard County marine agent Chris Combs have also provided specimens for and helped run the competition, held each fall at Camp Ocala.