Two philanthropic organizations, the Davis Family Foundation in Yarmouth, Maine, and the Captain Planet Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia, both announced in December that they had funded marine science education grants to DEI for work during the coming year. According to DEI’s Education Director, Colleen Haskell, the grant from the Davis Family Foundation will create a yearlong program designed to help K-12 educators adopt scientific inquiry and methods geared to students and the local coastal environment using DEI’s “Let’s Find Out” approach that encourages student engagement and critical thinking. DEI’s “Coastal Academy” will run during the summer of 2017, and enable interested teachers from Washington County to receive four days of training at DEI’s marine research facility and education center. Daily workshops will include topics covering the scientific method, research, experimental design, and resources for educators. The environmental education grant from the Captain Planet Foundation will be used to continue work with students and their teachers at the Beals Elementary School during 2017. The project, “Let’s Find Out What Is Out There – Then Manage, Restore, and Protect It,” will teach children how to use techniques developed at DEI to protect young clams from predators, giving them a chance to grow and survive to marketable size.
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