Gulf Guardian Award winner - Gulf of Mexico Foundation & ConocoPhillips

The EPA's Gulf Guardian Awards selected ConocoPhillips Lower 48 Philanthropic Program and the Gulf of Mexico Foundation first Place in the Business Category for Marine Workshops for Educators: the Down Under Out Yonder program and the Teachers' Intracoastal Waterway Expedition.
The Gulf of Mexico Foundation's (GMF) Down Under Out Yonder (DUOY) program introduces teachers to the ecology of coastal habitats and coral reefs. Teachers from around the U.S. join to explore the coastal and coral reef habitats of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. In partnership with the NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary the GMF hosted the coral reef program for the 14th year and with its funding partner, ConocoPhillips Lower 48 Philanthropic Program, initiated the first Teachers' Intracoastal Waterway Expedition. Teachers from 10 different states participated in these live-aboard boat based expeditions in 2009. The DUOY program has been in effect for 14 years, and for three of them, ConocoPhillips Lower 48 Philanthropic Program has been its primary sponsor. They sponsored the inaugural year of the new Intracoastal Waterway Expedition and taught segments of the curriculum dealing with natural resources and wetlands. In the 14 years of the DUOY program, over 250 educators have gone through the program. The Intracoastal Waterway Expedition was a great success. The cruises were on-board the M/V Fling, a 118-foot live-aboard vessel. The objectives these programs are to leave educators with the means to actively involve their students in the learning process, to expose them to coastal ecology, and to share personal experiences about working and living in coastal communities.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• marine education for teachers
• Gulf of Mexico Foundation
• Gulf Guardian Awards