Contact information:
Jim Needham
Dean, Community Outreach
Personal Information


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    Gulf Coast Environmental Education Program

In 2001, the Pollution Prevention Partnership and the Adopt-A-Wetland Program partnered to create the Gulf Coast Environmental Education Program. The Partnership received an Environmental Education Grant from the USEPA. The program combines activities of both partners into a diverse series of experiences for a broad range of participants. There are five elements in the program:

Community Events
The Partnership participates in a number of community events. These include providing kayaking instruction and the "Walk Through the Wetlands" experience at community festivals like Bayfest, Sea Fair, and Earth Day/Bay Day. More than a thousand visitors at these events get to kayak and visit the unique Walk Through the Wetlands exhibit. The Program also includes partnering with Padre Island Kiwanis Club to cosponsor the Spring and Fall Adopt-A-Beach Cleanups on Mustang and Padre Islands. Hundreds of volunteers show up and clean almost 12 miles of beaches. Goody bags from the City of Corpus Christi Stormwater Department have information to remind volunteers that much of what appears on the beaches starts as litter washing down the stormwater system.

Teacher Workshops
The Partnership along with the College of Education cosponsor the highly acclaimed Teaching Environmental Science I & II summer graduate courses. This hands-on, field-based teacher training program was started by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The Partnership provides instruction, equipment, resources, and field activities for the classes. This program gives teachers the opportunity to be scientists for a while and to experience a variety of exciting activities.

Seniors Seminars and Tours
"Wonders of Wetlands" In 1999, Adopt-A-Wetland began a series of seminars tailored to the many individuals who visit the Coastal Bend in the fall and winter. These popular seminars, held at various locations, provide participants with a "crash course" on wetland ecology and Coastal Bend ecologic issues. Each course combines classroom instruction with outdoor "hands-on" activities including kayak tours of local wetlands. "Eco-Historic Tours" These one-day driving tours enlighten individuals on the complex diversity found throughout the Coastal Bend while including important and little known historic information. Since much of the area's history is tied to the ecology it provides participants with a unique overview of the area's past, present, and future.

Teacher and Student Field Trips
The Partnership developed a field science day for science teachers and their students. Another partner, the Texas Rural Systemic Initiative offers the program to their rural schools. Teachers and their students spend a day at Little Bay in Rockport learning about the local environment. There is a kayak-based element of instruction and a trip aboard the Sea Grant floating classroom "Karma". Activities include seining, coring, wildlife observation, sample collection, and a series of trawls on board the Karma.

Summer Kayak Camps
With funding from the grant we continue to offer our very popular Summer Kayak Camps. Four Beginner, two Intermediate, and one Advanced Camp give selected students the opportunity to do a number of fun and exciting activities. Participants are nominated by partner schools and the local homeschool program. Activities include kayak instruction in the University swimming pool, kayak exploration of a variety of sites including the Padre Island National Seashore, fishing with Texas Parks & Wildlife's Kidfish Program, trips aboard the University of Texas' Marine Research Vessel "Katy", the Texas State Aquarium, and even a surf day for the Advanced Campers.