GULF SHORES, Ala. (WKRG) – Gulf Shores City Schools has received a substantial, competitive grant for its “Alabama Gulf Coast Resiliency Project: Sustainability, Full STEAMM Ahead” initiative, according to a press release from GSCS.
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The school system received a $733,024 grant from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The project was one of the few selected nationally.
The initiative works to “increase the scientific and environmental literacy” of students in kindergarten through eighth grade by “connecting classroom learning to real-world environmental issues along the Alabama Gulf Coast.”
The project will use the Gulf as a “living classroom,” where students will be able to learn through hands-on activities such as oyster farming, dune and shoreline restoration, water quality and climate monitoring, learning to dive, sail, cycle and kayak for STEAMM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) and water safety.
The initiative will be carried out in phases over the next three years:
Year 1 will focus on project planning and implementation across all GSCS schools for grades K-8. Teachers will be prepared through professional development and field training.
In year 2, the project will expand by reaching out to teachers in neighboring schools who lack resources and representation and offering them training and collaboration.
The third year will bring students from those partner districts, “engaging them in shared fieldwork, service-learning, and the culminating Gulf Coast Sustainability Symposium: a showcase of student-led proposals, scientific research, faculty development, and community innovation.”
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“This project is much more than traditional classroom instruction – it’s about empowering our region’s youth to see themselves as problem solvers, scientists and stewards, said project director Jessica Sampley. “This project allows them to do so by immersing them in the place they call home so they understand the importance of belonging, sustainability and conservation, and feel the quiet power of knowing they can make a difference right where they are. find.”
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