Articles

• Building a Better World
• 10 Questions on Marine Education
• Lou D'Abramo Awarded Honors
• ELBs Track Gulf Shrimping Effort
• Dr. Sharon Walker Promotes Ocean Literacy
• Mississippi Team Wins Hurricane Bowl
• Research in the Gulf
• Featured Publication
• From the Director

Sea Briefs is a report on the results of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.

Editor: Valerie Winn

Top photo: Chris Snyder

This newsletter is available in PDF format from:
masgc.org/seabriefs

MASGC supports applied, interdisciplinary marine science research, education and outreach efforts to foster the sustainable development and management of the Mississippi and Alabama coasts and nearshore ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico

Mississippi-Alabama
Sea Grant Consortium
703 East Beach Drive
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
Phone: 228-818-8840
E-mail: seabriefs@masgc.org
MASGP 07-011-02

10 Questions on Marine Education

Dr. John Dindo, Chairman of Discovery Hall Programs (DHP) at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) in Alabama, has played a vital role there since he assisted in the program’s creation back in 1975. Today, under his leadership, DHP includes six full-time marine educators and teaches hands-on learning to 13,000 K-12 students, focusing on coastal marine experiences as well as offering teacher training programs. Nine years ago, Dindo, along with DISL Executive Director Dr. George Crozier, raised funds to build a public aquarium that highlights Mobile Bay. As a scientist, he has worked with hormones that trigger migration in fish and birds. In addition, he has worked on artificial reefs and on the identification and biology of hard bottom communities off the coast of Alabama. He has been a member of the National Marine Educators Association for 20 years, has served as a board member and is a past president. Most recently, Dindo was named Outdoor Ambassador from the Gulf Coast Region by Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and was also profiled on the front page of the Mobile Press Register’s Living Section. He recently received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics where he earned his master’s degree in marine science and his Ph.D. in marine physiology and biochemistry.

1. What is the mission of the Discovery Hall Program?

The primary mission of the Discovery Hall Program has always been to teach the principles of science using the coastal and open ocean habitats as the examples. The philosophy of DHP is to educate about our oceans to all students no matter where they live because they have a direct impact on watersheds which link them to the oceans. The oceans provide the mystery and intrigue that can stimulate young students to take more science classes and our programs provide current marine science research that helps stimulate this interest in science.

2. How has the honor of being named a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center (CELC) affected your program?

By being named a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center, the DHP has become a partner with many federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and many more. Each of these agencies provides educational materials, knowledge and in some cases, labor that can be shared with all our participants. In addition, as a member in this network, the DHP has been able to send local high school students in marine science classes to Washington, D.C. to participate in a national conference on coastal and marine issues with other students from CELC’s across the nation. This National Student Ocean Summit provides a unique opportunity for these young men and women who come back to their schools and the districts to present on marine science issues.

3. What benefits have resulted from the synergy of the Discovery Hall Program, the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and the Environmental Studies Center?

These outstanding programs have been working together for more than 25 years. Each program has provided curriculum, shared students, shared projects and have been the center for marine science education in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. All three agencies share in the philosophy of providing a stimulus for science education through the use of our coastal and ocean habitats. The U.S. Ocean Commission Report to the nation and the Pew Ocean Report emphasize the need for a more informative society as to the role that our oceans play in the world. All three groups have been conducting this type of education long before these reports came out.

4. What are some of the examples of how the Discovery Hall Program involves teachers, students and others?

Years ago the Discovery Hall Program realized that all students living in Alabama can have a direct impact on the state’s coast and the Gulf of Mexico through its extensive watershed. In order to reach students beyond the two coastal counties, marine science educators would travel in cars to inland city schools to talk about Alabama’s coastal resources and how what they do and where they live can have a direct impact. By 1995, the Discovery Hall Program was teaching more than 11,000 students during the academic year and many more wanted to learn about our coast. Based on that need and the public’s interest in Mobile Bay and the northern Gulf of Mexico, DISL opened the Estuarium in 1998. This educational aquarium provided an opportunity to extend marine science education to more classes as well as the general public. In 2000, the DHP was funded by Alabama Power Company and ExxonMobile to build and operate a traveling marine science truck. This provided a modern platform for DHP faculty to reach teachers and students throughout the state. For the past 20 years the DHP has provided summer teacher in-services through specific marine science courses which may be taken for credit through any of our 21 consortium schools.

5. What has Sea Grant’s support/involvement meant to the ESC?

Long before watershed and coastal marine science became important to state and federal agencies, MASGC was there funding marine science education programs in both states. This agency has provided the funding for teacher in-service workshops in specific areas such as invasive species, watersheds, salt marshes, water quality and dunes. In addition, Sea Grant has provided seed money that allowed the DHP to expand its K-12 marine science faculty. This helped to provide a larger outreach program to both formal and informal marine science audiences.

Lloyd Scott has been an educator for 40 years, 33 of them at the Mobile County Public School System’s Environmental Studies Center, the only public school program of its kind in Alabama. Active in formal and informal programming of environmental education and natural sciences, his range of interests include coastal wildlife, wetlands ecology, exotic and invasive species, global climate changes and flora of Southeastern United States. Throughout his years of providing learning opportunities and teacher resource assistance, he has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Conservationist of the Year Award from the Mobile County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Blanch Dean Award for Outstanding Nature Educator from the Alabama Environmental Council. Most recently he was honored as the Alabama Environmental Educator of the Year by the Environmental Education Association of Alabama. Holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., and advanced certification in administration from The University of Alabama, he is also a member of several professional organizations.

1. What is the mission of the Environmental Studies Center?

To provide learning opportunities and teacher resource assistance in science and environmental education that support and strengthen classroom instruction and student achievement.

2. How has the ESC benefited students and teachers in the Mobile area?

Over the past 30 years, more than half a million visitors—the majority being teachers and students—have provided an extra dimension to the teaching of natural science and environmental studies. They have had the opportunity to go beyond the traditional classroom to engage in experiential learning about the natural world. Concepts that are introduced in the pages of a book are brought to life at the ESC. The abundance of live animals on display provides a first-hand look at species native to southern Alabama and the southeastern coastal plain. A respect for wildlife is engendered through the ESC’s animal rehabilitation program and the themes of stewardship and resource conservation are taught throughout the curriculum. The same resources that serve to support student involvement also enhance the ESC’s ability to provide quality learning experiences for teachers.

3. What have been some of the high points in the history of the ESC?

There have been many! The first would be the decision by the School Board in 1977 to assume fiscal responsibility for the program, following a three-year starter grant from the federal government. That decision included the construction of the 10,000-square-foot instructional building, that, after several renovations due to hurricanes, remains as the hub of activity on the site. In 1985 we receive a bald eagle and golden eagle from Auburn University’s Southeastern Raptor Center, a medical wildlife rehabilitation facility, and were authorized by the National Wildlife Service to display them in our wildlife education collection. Our exhibit collection has steadily grown over the years and presently includes more than 60 species of birds, mammals, fish and reptiles native to the Gulf Coast.

4. What has Sea Grant’s support meant to the ESC?

Our relationship with Sea Grant began in 1985 and has continued for 22 years. The most obvious benefit has been the grant funds to extend our programs and personnel. Much of the maintenance of our educational exhibits has been handled by part-time student workers supported by Sea Grant. Numerous programs, ranging from early elementary through high school and involving thousands of students, have been possible because of Sea Grant. Support from Sea Grant served as seed money that led to an ongoing program for high school marine biology students in partnership with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

5. Have you witnessed any far-reaching effects based on what teachers or students have learned because of the ESC? If so, what are they?

Many students, through their ESC field experiences and other program activities, have gone on to pursue environment-related careers. Many teachers, following participation in workshops, seminars and other ESC-sponsored training programs, have gone on to involve their students and themselves in environment-related activities and learning experiences such as beach cleanup, habitat restoration programs, summer courses, training institutes, seminars, school yard habitats and professional conferences.