Home Issues Education
Print E-mail
Supporting
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Tabitha Whalen Stadler, Coastal Training Coordinator, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

What is the Environmental Education Team doing? Our diverse network of educators are sharing successful environmental education projects and coordinating a Gulfwide campaign to reduce nutrient inputs caused by people's activities on land.

Why? Environmental education is an important tool in protecting the Gulf. If we can use social science to understand beliefs, attitudes and behaviors, we can deliver educational messages that are relevant in the lives of Gulf community members.

What does this Alliance Team call itself? Environmental Education

Read Script

Priority Issue: Environmental Education

Speaker: Tabitha Stadler, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Hi, my name is Tabitha Stadler and I work at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Naples, which is in Southwest, Florida. I am the Coastal Training Coordinator and I am an education and outreach specialist and I am actively working on behalf of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance.

So I was fortunate enough to be at the first ever meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance which was held back in June 2005 where the heads of the environmental agencies from all five Gulf of Mexico States - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida met with about a dozen different federal agencies.

They sat together in an historic moment and worked on an agreement to collaborate on behalf of the Gulf of Mexico and to really manage it as a single ecosystem. And because each state surrounding the Gulf of Mexico has different issues and different communities and values, this idea of managing together through communication and collaboration is really unprecedented.

As an educator, my hope is that other states will join the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. That's because 41% of all the water flowing to the coasts in the US is going into the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico. This means people as far away as western Pennsylvania and eastern Montana are making decisions about the water quality in the Gulf of Mexico.

So our group of educators has come together, and they are a diverse group. They are classroom teachers, but they are also teachers who work with fisherman, or landscapers and we are seeking ways to provide science-based information about how just minimal changes in behavior can basically protect the environmental and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico.

There are so many "services" that the Gulf offers. I think seafood is one of my favorite. There's lots of statistics - but Gulf seafood - 1.3 billion pounds of seafood come out of the Gulf of Mexico every year. And it's not just food, its jobs and quality of life, and I think it's that boating and marine culture that I think a lot of us really love here in Florida. So I am hoping that no matter where you are, you think about the Gulf of Mexico and that water quality. I hope we can work together, protect this body of water and really continue to thrive from all that the Gulf of Mexico, you know, all that it has to offer us.
 
Learn about the Gulf of Mexico
Education1 Education3
In what condition is the Gulf of Mexico? Read and watch the Gulf in Peril series from the Naples Daily News What is climate change and how is it happening? Read this Q & A by Earth Gauge Take your kids fishing. All about Florida kids fishing clinics from the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
 
Environmental FAQ's Print E-mail

Postcard-Education1

Why is the Gulf of Mexico so important? The Gulf of Mexico region provides the Nation with valuable energy resources, abundant seafood, extraordinary beaches and leisure activities, and a rich cultural heritage. The robust economy of the Gulf of Mexico provides jobs for more than 20 million people. The major commercial fishing ports of the region bring in over 1.2 billion pounds of fresh seafood every year

What can you tell me about the Gulf of Mexico? The U.S. portion of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico totals 47,000 miles of beaches, barrier islands, wetlands and inland bays. The Gulf has an area of approximately 580,000 square miles with an average depth of 5,299 feet.

Is the Gulf of Mexico in trouble? One serious problem in the Gulf of Mexico is an area off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas called the Dead Zone. This refers to an area of water that is low in dissolved oxygen, called hypoxia by researchers. Low dissolved oxygen in the Gulf means that aquatic life, such as fish and shellfish, might not have enough to survive. While hypoxia can occur naturally, it is often an indication that too many nutrients

 Fun Fact:
How many U.S. States border the Gulf of Mexico?

from human-caused sources are running from the land into the water. Rainwater that hits streets and roofs moves downhill towards water bodies that eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico. This water, called stormwater, often contains excessive amounts of phosphorous and nitrogen which are nutrients and act like vitamins for the sea. Too many vitamins causes' massive blooms of plants called algae. These plants use up the oxygen and die leaving no oxygen for other forms of sea life.

What are you doing about the Dead Zone? Researchers have been studying the Dead Zone since the 1970s and have determined that it ranges in size from 15 to 8,500 square miles and is seasonal. Numerous federal, state and local governments have established laws, best practices and educational campaigns to reduce nutrient inputs to the Gulf of Mexico. Since this is a large and complex problem, the steps taken by every individual who lives on or near the Gulf coast makes a difference. Think about the activities you do on a daily basis and consider the Gulf of Mexico and its importance to your life and community. Care for yards, parks and green spaces by using the appropriate amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides. Follow labels with precision, because excess treatment of plants will result in wasted money and possible leaching into groundwater or runoff into the Gulf.
 


Education Resources

Priority Issues