On July 28 and 29, the Guy Harvey Foundation partnered with the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine (GTM) Research Reserve to host a professional development training session for K-12 teachers. The training included in-classroom STEAM training and hands-on activities like nurdle patrolling and nature journaling.
The Guy Harvey Foundation collaborates with local and international organizations to conduct scientific research and host educational training sessions that focus on understanding and preserving the ocean environment. It partners with different organizations across the state to share its mission on education, conservation and marine awareness. Betty Bergnes, director of education outreach for the Guy Harvey Foundation, said one of the foundation’s goals is to educate teachers.
“We bring teachers together from all over Florida to learn about conservation, and we do that by putting meaningful content in their hands and showing them how to use our resources. Then they can take it back to their classrooms and inspire their students,” she said.
The GTM Research Reserve is dedicated to the conservation of natural biodiversity and cultural resources through research. The GTM covers 75,761 acres of uplands and waterways, and it is one of 30 national estuarine research reserves in the country. The GTM is a collaboration with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
One of the activities teachers took part in during the training was Nurdle Patrol. A nurdle is the base plastic for what makes up plastic water bottles, laundry detergent tubs, etc. These nurdles fall off boats out in the ocean and then wash up on the beach. They are the perfect size for small animals such as birds and turtles to eat.
Kevin Jadick, a marine science teacher, said these nurdles are becoming a real problem and that more and more plastic is ending up in the ocean. Jadick and his wife work with Florida Water Tours to take K-12 students on boat field trips to learn about preservation and conservation. They also do water quality testing with the students and send the data to NOAA and the GTM Research Reserve.
Jadick said he wanted to participate in the training “to connect with the other teachers and work on creating new ideas on how we can shape young minds that are up and coming.”
Jadick and his wife understand how important ocean conservation is, which is a message they are always trying to communicate to their students.
“If the ocean dies, we die,” he said. “Fifty to 70% of the world’s oxygen comes from the ocean, and anybody can be a part of ocean conservation.” He encourages his students and their families to invest in reusable water bottles and pick up a piece of trash when they go to the beach.
“Those little changes will go a long way,” he said.
Teachers from all over the state participated in this training and, with school starting back up, Bergnes said one of the biggest goals of the Guy Harvey Foundation is to get kids “salty.”
“We want kids to get back into the natural world so they can experience it and love it because that is how they are going to protect it,” he said.
