Local students explore estuary, barrier island habitats
Students from Immokalee and Fort Myers recently got firsthand exposure to Southwest Florida’s coastal environment through the No Child Left On Shore environmental education outreach project.
A partnership between the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation and Captiva Cruises, the program fills a vital need of providing local youth with an informative and fun way to gain experiential knowledge of the ecology of the region’s marine environment. The recent participants were from The Immokalee Foundation and the Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida.
“These were all first-time experiences for many of these students, despite how close they live to the coast,” SCCF environmental educator Richard Finkel said. “The No Child Left on Shore initiative enables these youth to form a deeper connection to their coastal surroundings.”
The students had the opportunity to cruise the waters of the Pine Island Sound and Gulf of Mexico, observing dolphins and birds along the way. They explored mudflats at low tide, noticed the evidence of marine life along the shoreline, and enjoyed plunging into the Gulf water. They also learned about water quality and other ecological issues that scientists are working on at the SCCF’s Marine Lab.
“My day was a nice trip on the water — I learned new things and discovered new creatures I never knew about,” one students from The Immokalee Foundation said. “This field trip taught me that the world is full of discoveries.”
The Immokalee Foundation offers students the tools. opportunities and support they need to succeed at each level of their education. Quality Life Center, located in the Dunbar community of Fort Myers, enriches the lives of young people and underserved communities through academic enrichment, performing arts, leadership and cultural awareness.
The No Child Left On Shore initiative was founded in 2010 by Captiva Cruises, Finkel and Paul McCarthy, the former owner of Captiva Cruises, as a collaborative effort with the SCCF.
For more information or to sponsor a field trip, contact Finkel at rfinkel@sccf.org.