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Goal 9. Marine Education: Create Scientifically and Environmentally Informed Citizens
Sustainability of Florida’s economy is dependent on continued economic development, environmental stewardship and social well-being. All three elements are essential to meet the continued growth demands that are occurring in the state. The economic prosperity of Florida is inextricably linked to its coastal and marine resources. Creating a scientifically and environmentally informed citizenry is essential as Floridians find an acceptable way to satisfy the demands for these resources while protecting their environmental integrity.
Florida has one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, while many current residents and the majority of new residents have a limited scientific knowledge base about the marine and coastal resources of Florida. The challenge is to create an environmentally literate citizenry that allows Florida to remain competitive in the national and world economy while conserving its marine and coastal resources.
Additionally, national studies indicate that youth graduating from our schools, when compared to those educated in many other countries, are not competitive in the math and sciences. They also have little or no understanding of the marine and aquatic sciences, a tragedy for a state with the nation’s second longest coastline. With over 8,000 miles of tidal shorelines it has a wide diversity of living and non-living marine resources unmatched by any state in the United States. It has both temperate and tropical ecosystems and is the only state in North America with a shallow water marine ecosystem containing mangroves, sea grasses and coral reefs. To compound this problem, many science teachers in the K-12 system do not have science degrees in any of the marine disciplines. The NOAA strategic plan for 2003-2008 includes a priority to establish an environmental literacy program to education present and future generations about the changing earth and its processes and to inspire our nation’s youth to pursue scientific careers. The need for science-based information related to Florida’s coastal and marine resources – and to their use and stewardship – has never been more apparent.
Sea Grant engages 10 specialists and 17 extension faculty working in outreach capacities in Florida’s coastal counties. Their activities are both specific to the needs of coastal communities and to 14 focus area groups that span regional and thematic interests under Sea Grant’s goal and program areas. These, collectively, create a demand for communications services to help develop the tools and materials needed to deliver information and educational programs to program constituents.
At the same time, there are more than 200 research projects over a four-year period that are supported completely or in part by Florida Sea Grant, as more than half of Florida Sea Grant’s core funding continues to be invested in this research on a statewide, competitive basis. Most of this research is conducted by scientists at the 16 Florida Sea Grant partner institutions. These researchers and their campus coordinators, together with their media services or information officers, form another outlet for Sea Grant communications. This clientele of research-related faculty and scientists generate findings that warrant communications support and recognition.
Nearly 80 percent of the population lives in the 35 coastal counties. In addition to this resident population there are nearly one million additional seasonal residents in Florida during the winter months. Besides residents there are 78 million visitors to the state annually. Surveys indicate that vacationing is their primary reason for coming to Florida, and their top activity is visiting the beaches. Thus there is a substantial “general public” that can be reached through the media markets that exist in Florida, including three of the nation’s top 20 television markets, and major newspapers covering all coastal cities.
Florida Sea Grant is responding to these challenges and opportunities. It has developed an active communications and marine education program at local, state and regional levels that contribute to marine and coastal literacy by facilitating the delivery of science-based information, programs, materials and resources to the education community and citizenry at large. This effort provides an awareness of Florida’s marine and coastal environment and begins to instill an environmental ethic into its people of all ages.
The broad goal for this strategic area is to increase the knowledge of citizens in all age categories about coastal and marine issues and increase the use of science in decision making about the use and conservation of coastal and marine resources.
Target audiences will include classroom teachers (K-12), utilizing the “training the trainer” methodology to reach a maximum number of educators in Florida; 4H agents, volunteers and youth in individual counties; and the Florida citizens that attend FSG programs and special events. Citizens outside Florida will also be an audience where appropriate.
Audiences also include the scientific community, civic leaders, legislators, decision makers, resource managers and the media.
Products and activities used to achieve this goal will: 1) design hands-on formal and informal educational programs for Florida’s citizens; 2) develop expanded professional development programs for current classroom teachers, as well as future teachers; 3) produce high-quality marine and aquatic educational materials that are based on sound science and national and state standards; 4) foster increased education of traditionally under-represented and under-served youth groups in marine and aquatic sciences; 5) deliver a statewide marine extension/outreach program across all strategic goal areas, as identified in within each goal area; and 6) serve in a leadership role to create or strengthen existing collaborations and partnerships with other Florida universities and organizations in marine and aquatic education efforts.
Measurement of performance will include professional assessments and observations, quantifiable self-reports, quantifiable reports of others, tests and individual assessments that will indicate change in attitude, skill, behavior or knowledge by program participants and feedback from advisory panels.
A. Increase marine and coastal science in the formal education classroom (K-12 community)
- Develop partnerships that support programs and training opportunities for K-12 educators.
- Support development of materials and programs that provide both content knowledge and process skills and that meet national and state education standards.
- Develop partnerships with other entities that support the creation of electronic technology products and Internet linkages.
- Participate in the programs of the two Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE) that cover Florida ( Florida; Gulf of Mexico).
B. Increase marine and coastal science literacy of citizens through non-formal and informal channels
- Support citizen-based education programs that allow the public to become involved with coastal environmental stewardship and economic issues.
- Support development of materials and programs that can be used for informal groups, including 4-H, youth and aquaria.
- Identify research funding from NOAA, Sea Grant and other agencies and universities that can be incorporated into programs to create public understanding or marine and aquatic systems.
- Create relevant communications products and outreach programs for use by state, national and international audiences.
- Collaborate with other educational institutions and state agencies to maintain and develop the Florida Sea Grant website as a dynamic repository of marine and coastal information, with linkages to support educational and research efforts and to provide a resource to connect people, projects and information in Florida and around the nation and globe.
- Produce high-quality publications and productions that effectively communicate the results of Florida Sea Grant research that addresses key environmental, policy and management issues in Florida and the Southeast to civic leaders, policy and decision makers and to the scientific community.
County extension faculty, under the leadership of the assistant director for extension, whose specialty is marine education, provide the bulk of the adult and youth related marine education activity (e.g., teacher training workshops, 4-H and youth activities at the county level, state marine ecology camps, state ecology contests, county coastal cleanups, marine stewardship). In fact, about 2.7 person years are dedicated to marine education across the 17 county-based faculty. This may be the largest marine education effort among all Sea Grant programs, when just core program support is considered. However, a full-time marine educator would provide a more coordinated, consistent statewide program effort.
Florida Sea Grant does not have adequate resources to provide complete coverage of all of Florida’s 35 coastal counties. There is a need for an additional nine county faculty, at a minimum, to provide geographic coverage to the state for educational programming. FSG normally provides 60 percent funding for a county faculty position and the county provides 40 percent plus office space and other contributions. Some counties currently are requesting Sea Grant faculty and have their funding in place, but FSG is unable to respond due to lack of funds. In addition, a communicator is needed just to support the existing Sea Grant extension faculty and their diverse and varying needs, both in scope and to respond in a timely fashion.
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