Mote Marine Laboratory

Corporate Spotlight: Verizon

The Verizon Foundation provided a $24,000 grant to support the year-long project: "Ocean Literacy — Watersheds to Estuaries to the Oceans."

Created by Mote's Education Division, the Ocean Literacy project focuses on teacher education and addresses teaching skills through professional development workshops that in turn reach students year after year.

For students to become good environmental stewards, they must understand how their personal choices impact on the larger global ecosystem, including the world's ocean. The Verizon Foundation grant is helping Mote guide teachers on how they can help students discover their connections to the ocean by looking at their own local watersheds and coastal estuarine habitats. Florida teachers aren't required to cover marine or aquatic topics, and yet these subjects are critical if students in Florida are to understand their impact on both local and global aquatic environments.

By providing educators with the content, tools and strategies they need to create field-based lessons on watersheds and estuaries, Mote is helping them teach middle school students to be effective stewards of their watersheds, the ocean and beyond.

The Verizon Foundation grant is supporting a series of teacher workshops in Sarasota, Manatee, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. With field and classroom components, including content and curriculum, the program includes Continuing Education Units and a Florida Marine Science Educator's Aquatic Collection Certification.

Learn more about Mote's Corporate Membership Program