AWW Program Staffers Mona and Sydney had an AWWesome few days learning and exploring at the 2018 Environmental Education Association of Alabama Conference in Dauphin Island, AL back in February.
The EEAA Conference was a great opportunity to meet and network with amazing environmental educators across Alabama, and to learn new and exciting ways to teach kids (and adults!) about environmental stewardship. Take a look at a few of the conference highlights below!
On the second day of the conference, we hopped on board the Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s research vessel to explore the estuary! We caught some seriously neat critters, including squids, horseshoe crabs, stingrays, and puffer fish!
Mona holds a juvenile female horseshoe crab caught for observation by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab research vessel.
The EEAA conference featured several talks and breakout sessions geared towards hands-on, out-side-the-box thinking for teaching youth about environmental stewardship.
We learned how to guide students through solving an environmental mystery with author Claire Datnow (you can purchase her environmental mystery series on Amazon), learned about Alabama’s incredible freshwater mussel diversity, and how collaboration between organizations is key! (ex… NOAA and Dauphin Island!)
Little Spectaclecase, a freshwater mussel native to Alabama (found in Chewacla State Park in Auburn) displayed during a talk, given by AUM professor Shelly Taliaferro, about the book “Immersion,” written by Abbie Gascho Landis.
Dauphin Island Sea Lab partners with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to employ coastal weather stations that collect real-time weather data as well as several water quality parameters, including salinity and dissolved oxygen.
A look at AWW’s sweet set up at the conference! We mainly highlighted the 4H Alabama Water Watch Program’s Exploring Our Living Streams curriculum and educator workshops.
AWW was joined by several other organizations, including the Cahaba Environmental Center, Camp McDowell, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, AL State Parks, and many, many others!
Check out AWW’s Instagram for more photos of the conference.