Education & Outreach
Part of Turtle Cove's mission is to provide education and outreach activities to students, teachers, and community members. These activities engender support for preserving the current wetland ecology and for future wetland restoration.
Field Trips for Students and Other Community Groups
Using the 40 ft Turtle Cove Pontoon Boat, our staff take students (usually ranging from 2nd or 3rd graders through college) and community groups of all ages, on field trip tours of the marsh and swamp areas of the Manchac/Maurepas region. These field trips involve both lectures (on the history of our coastal wetland loss problems) as well as hands-on activities where students test water quality, dip net for aquatic species, or conduct field surveys of specific animal and plant species. Field Trips usually offered 2-days per week (M-F) during each semester--for Spring 2018 the two days are Mondays and Fridays 9am-12:30pm. See above "field trips" link for more information. Also check out our Self-Guided Boardwalk Tour at Turtle Cove.
Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) Environmental Education
In conjunction with GOMA, this project, which was originally funded during 2011 (and which activities continue through the future), seeks to create an environmentally literate public who are good stewards of the Gulf and associated watersheds. Innovative, field-based and classroom-based opportunities are provided for K-12 teachers, students and families in southeast Louisiana. Teachers, other educators and students have been attending Turtle Cove field trip tours where they learn about the impacts of coastal wetland loss, collect/analyze water quality data, perform flora/fauna identification activities and possibly participate in wetland restoration projects (plantings and Christmas tree deployments) that have been and will continue each spring. Included in these trips is a ride through the Manchac Wetlands on the Turtle Cove Pontoon Boat, where passengers are able to view first-hand the characteristics and beauty of Southeast Louisiana wetlands. A major component of each field trip is the new Self-guided Boardwalk Tour in the marsh behind Turtle Cove, where individuals learn detailed information on about 50 different flora/fauna species that inhabit the surrounding ecosystem. Families have also been asked to attend and participate in the field trips. The initial phase of this project concluded with a Teacher Workshop held at Turtle Cove facilities in accordance with this grant. View more about upcoming workshops. See above "Field Trips" section for more information on field trips.
Field Training Program for Young Scientists (from original NOAA grant)
Originally funded through a NOAA grant from 2010-2011, this project greatly enhanced Turtle Cove's traditional field trips into more of a new field training program for young scientists. This program is appropriate for grade school groups ranging form approximately third grade through high school students, as well as any related community groups, seeking advanced activity training and skills in wetland science. See above "Field Trips" section or contact Rob Moreau [rmoreau@southeastern.edu] for more information on field trips
Teacher Workshops
Through the years, when funding has been available, Turtle Cove has facilitated single-day teacher workshops for K-12 teachers and other community educators. These workshops have focused on a combination of field collection and identification techniques (water quality/dipnetting/vegetation identification) and classroom lectures, all of which provide an introduction to the natural and socio-economic systems that make up the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.
Learn more about teacher workshops
