Our Approach
Mooring Buoy Program
Coral Reef Classroom
Adopt-a-Reef
Team Ocean Program
Blue Star Program
SEE Awards
Tarpon-Bonefish Research Grant
Keys Connectivity
Where We Work
Matthew W. Beard Memorial
Eco-Discovery Center

Sanctuary Friends Foundation supports the FKNMS's SEE Awards Program

April 18, 2007

Official Request for Proposal Announcement
Proposal Application Form

FKNMS Contact Ivy Kelley
ivy.kelley@noaa.gov or (305) 852-7717 ext. 36
  1. April 18, 2007   Request for Proposals
  2. June 1, 2007      RFPs are due
  3. July  2007           Selection of proposals is complete and teachers are notified
  4. August 2007       Awards are dispersed via checks to individual teachers
  5. May 30, 2008      All funds must have been spent
  6. June 15, 2008    Final reports are due!

 PURPOSE:

To increase student awareness and understanding of local ecosystems and their role in the history, culture and economy of the Florida Keys. To enhance regular curriculum with opportunities for study above and beyond that provided by regular school funding.

 Description of Past SEE Programs:

Alternative Education students from Key Largo School (42 students, with emphasis on minority and low socioeconomic) culminated a yearlong study of Florida Keys natural history and historical events with a trip to Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. They alo shared their knowledge with other classes through PowerPoint reports and website presentations.  

At-risk students participated in a year-long exploration of self-reliance in farming in the Florida Keys over the past two centuries. The students used pedometers to approximate the amount of time/exercise that settlers experienced in their daily life, and compared that with their own lives. They also planted and maintained a salad greens/vegetables project from cultivation to harvest in the schoolyard to simulate the production of pineapple in the early Keys. This project included math and physical education aspects, as well as study of cultural and natural resources.  

Gifted middle school students researched the old septic systems and new plans being implemented in the Florida Keys.  They purchased water quality sampling kits and tested local waters for E-coli contamination.  GPS units were used in the recording of water sample locations.  Students were shocked as they witnessed firsthand the dramatic increase in contamination after rainfall in the Keys. Reports were submitted in PowerPoint, brochure, and poster form.  

Elementary school students transformed stories and research into a puppet show that was presented to other classes. Funding was used to construct a puppet theater and purchase puppets of endangered species, and students learned by teaching others about the interconnected habitats of ecosystems.  

Forty-two fifth-grade students culminated their year long studies of Florida Keys ecosystems with a three-day visit to SeaCamp, where they snorkeled (some students had never been swimming in the ocean), explored mangrove habitats, and learned about marine animals in a laboratory setting. Funding provided scholarships or partial scholarships to minority and low-income students. Students wrote logs of their experience, and after the trip the class hosted a presentation of their projects, artwork, and slideshows at the school. The trip has become an annual tradition at the school and is eagerly anticipated by students, parents, and teachers.