Grant: 25-018E
Project Title: Inspiring Stewards and Action Ambassadors to Conserve the Archie Carr Refuge
Project Manager: Sarah Rhodes-Ondi
Organization: Sea Turtle Conservancy (Non-Profit Organization)
Grant Amount: $26,601.00
Completion Date:
Summary: Sea Turtle Conservancy's (STC) programs at the Barrier Island Sanctuary Management and Education Center (BIC), located in the heart of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, have a responsibility to train the next generation of stewards of sea turtles and their critical nesting habitat. Sea Turtle School (STS) field study education programs have reached up to 3,300 students in both Brevard and Indian River Counties. Most of these programs reach K-4 students. In 2022, STC also launched a new STS STEM Outreach program to provide additional opportunities for the STS attendees to be empowered to innovate solutions to sea turtle threats. To broaden the age range of our audience, in 2019, STC also built the Sea Turtle TECH STEM Mentorship and Conservation Career Training Program to reach middle school and teen audiences during the summer. All of these programs show strong learning outcomes and pro-sea turtles attitude and conservation behavior shifts. In 2024, STC successfully launched a new program during the school year, the STC Action Ambassadors (STCAA) to reach teens, ages 11-18 yrs. This project will support STS, STS STEM Outreach, and the STCAA program. The STCAA will train teens in the steps to succeed in collaborative projects that create systemic change to conserve sea turtles and their habitats. Issues the STCAA will address in the Carr Refuge include lighting hazards, trash removal, and dune stabilization. STC is seeking funding for the Community Stewardship Coordinator and a college intern to support the STS education program and bus scholarships, outreach programs, and to sustain the new STCAA program. All of these programs build the future stewards of the Archie Carr Refuge by training the next generation in the skills needed to conserve sea turtles and their habitats.
Results: