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.

NOTE: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, actual physical field trips for large groups have been suspended until further notice (at least through the summer of 2020)---researcher use is available and ongoing. We will keep you updated as to group use as the summer and fall semesters evolve. However we do have some on-line offerings that may be of interest to your group--Please see the special message below, and please contact Dr. Robert Moreau at the above coordinates for more information.  But you can start here by viewing our primary Turtle Cove Power Point that we use for all of our university education and public outreach groups. Turtle Cove Power Point on Impacts of Coastal Wetland Loss (for all of our university education and public outreach groups)

 

SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM DR. ROBERT MOREAU (regarding on-line options to conduct "virtual field trips" during the COVID-19 shutdown of actual physical field trips):

Folks, I hope this email finds you doing well and safe during these unusual times. You all had scheduled education/outreach-related field trip outings to TurtleCove in the recent past two weeks on through the start of the summer in June.  As you know we had to cancel many of those now all the way through at least the summer of 2020 and into the start of the Fall Semester as remain in Phase 2 of the State of Louisiana orders for the pandemic. During the past few months, the TurtleCove staff have been updating and revising all of our TurtleCove educational materials (i.e., power points, boardwalk signs, and other items related to our normal TurtleCove programming), and are now able to offer many of our services (on-line of course) to any of you who are interested. Most of these "services" are things we have always done when speaking to your groups in person on actual physical field trips---only now they would be provided "on-line." Some examples of what we could do to help your classes or groups remotely (on-lineon your own, face to face via GoogleMeet, etc.) include:
 
(1) Have your group watch a couple of our already available videos, including: (1) our 20 min documentary "Troubled Waters: History of the Manchac Swamp Ecosystem and TurtleCove" and; (2) our 25 minute PR Video on our return (from the devastation of Katrina) in 2012---it shows many of the activities we do, both located on our website at: www.southeastern.edu/ turtlecove
(2) Me or one of our two current graduate students, Max Henderson and Tess Crockett, could present our new updated TurtleCove power-point presentation---based off of our older one it is still titled "Impacts of Coastal Wetland Loss in Southeast Louisiana and Overview of TurtleCove Environmental Research Station" to your groups via GoogleMeet at agreed upon times. The power point is now on our website (see above for link) and available in case you want to just use it yourselves on your own;
(3) Tess or Max could also present their on-going research work to your group---both are working on reptile projects in the wetlands of Louisiana;
(4) Tess or Max could "walk your group through our 55 different TurtleCove boardwalk signs" (all of those signs have always also been visible on our website---something that is very important now!) and add any additional info to maybe 5-10 or more selected signs (species) that you want to focus on (maybe one of each: bird, mammal, fish, vegetation, reptile/amphibian);
(5) We could also create some short quizzes or essay questions for teachers to use for their groups based on the environment surrounding TurtleCove, the educational materials on our website, etc., and then be there to answer questions during or after the presentation;
(6) or you could just arrange to invite us to your on-line meeting or classroom setting (i.e., via Google Hangouts Meet) to talk about any environmental subjects related to our Wetlands of Southeast Louisiana that you would like to talk about---sort of an informal seminar, or "Q&A session," with our TurtleCove staff.
 
And if you have some other ideas, by all means let me know and we'll see what we can do to help continue to provide you and your groups information on the Manchac Wetland Ecosystem and TurtleCove.  I know it's not the same as actually taking a boat ride down Pass Manchac to TurtleCove (how could it be!!!), but that will come later once we get past these unusual times and return to more normal times. So let me know what you think and if you have an interest in any of these offerings. Feel free to contact me to discuss by email or cell (my cell is 504-231-1067). Thanks, and be well and safe.
 
Rob

 

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 2-3 days per week (M-F during Fall and Spring semesters, and M-Th during summer).  Check here for each semester's days of availability, or contact Dr. Robert Moreau (rmoreau@southeastern.edu, or cell 504-231-1067) for more information or special requests.  See above "field trips" link for more information. Also check out our Self-Guided Boardwalk Tour at Turtle Cove.

 

 

field tripLearn more about field trips

 

Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA)

Environmental Education

Field Trip

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 a Self-guided Boardwalk Tour in the marsh behind Turtle Cove, where individuals can learn detailed information on the  flora/fauna species that inhabit the surrounding ecosystem. Families have also been asked to attend and participate in the field trips.  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. University classes are provided more in-depth discussions and activities on field trips. 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.

workshopLearn more about teacher workshops