The Department of Environmental Protection's Learning in Florida’s Environment (LIFE) program hosted middle school students from Kennedy Middle School at Honeymoon Island State Park for a three-day series of labs centered on the park’s recent beach nourishment project. The students conducted science-based field labs as part of the on-site educational program, including bird observations and adaptations, ecosystem ingredients and a dune movement lab.
“By planting dune vegetation, monitoring beach restoration efforts and tracking erosion, these students are not only learning to be environmental stewards but are providing a tremendous service to Honeymoon Island State Park,” said DEP’s LIFE Director Greg Ira. “The LIFE program provides a great opportunity for students to gain hands-on, engaging lessons in environmental care and restoration.”
Students and volunteers planted dune vegetation on the park’s new beach last weekend in addition to the LIFE program labs that started on Wednesday. The dune movement lab in particular involved students monitoring the beach project, measuring the width of the beach along several transects and the height of the dune using a permanent benchmark. The measurements will then allow students and park staff to track erosion and accretion of the dunes within the nourishment area.
The LIFE program at Honeymoon Island State Park has been a part of the Gulf Alliance Initiative by fulfilling the Environmental Education priority of the Gulf Of Mexico Alliance Governor’s Action Plan. The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is part of a coordinated response to President George W. Bush’s Ocean Action Plan, which called for the development of regional goals and priorities for safeguarding the nation’s oceans. The state-federal alliance outlines 11 actions to improve and protect water quality, restore coastal wetlands and estuarine ecosystems, reduce pollution and nutrient loading, identify Gulf habitats to support coastal management and expand environmental education.
Since 2004, nearly 3,500 future scientists and stewards have participated in the LIFE program. The LIFE initiative seeks to establish a series of field-based, environmental- science education programs around the state. Each of the nine existing programs is a partnership between the DEP and a local school district. The goal of each LIFE program is increased student achievement and teacher professional development in science, with the content and delivery varying from site to site.
For more information on the LIFE program, visit www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/ed/.