Headed to Belize!

/in /by

Caribbean SEA is collaborating with Belize Community Conservation, an NGO based in Canada to bring Clean Water Camp and improved water and sanitation to the community of San Mateo. They have been plagued with illness and death due to contaminated drinking water. Rotary International is also involved by providing some water filters. Belize is Fun is one of our sponsors. It takes us all to tackle these issues! What can you do?

SEA Creatures!!

/in /by

I have been working on a project for the better part of this year, and I am just so excited about it that I can’t keep it under wraps any longer!

Last May, I interviewed and chose 36 wonderful rising Form 4 and 5 students from 5 secondary schools around Saint Lucia.  Last week, these students were able to go to our 6th annual Rainforest Camp so that they could learn more about their island.  We went snorkeling in the mangroves of Marigot and the reefs of Anse Chastanet.  We hiked (and hiked and hiked) through the Des Cartier Trail in the rainforest.  We learned about biodiversity, especially in (terrestrial and aquatic) insects and learned about seed adaptations in plants.  We also played lots of fun games that teach about animal life here in Saint Lucia. Everything was so much fun but I really feel like everyone learned a lot about the biodiversity of the island! 

As exciting as camp was, I’m even more excited about what comes next! These students now will be leading environmental clubs (called SEA Creatures Clubs) in the primary schools around the island so that they can pass on the things that they learned at camp!  Every time I talk to my students, I am just so proud and amazed by their enthusiasm and willingness to give back to their communities.  It makes me so anxious for school to start! But not too soon… I still have a lot of planning to do for primary school lessons now! 

Thank you SEA Stars for making my job so much fun! 😀 

Degrees of Thirst

/in /by

I love infographics and so I was thrilled when I got an email from the creators of this infographic about their “Degrees of Thirst”. Here is your reminder for today to conserve water!!

Degrees of Thirst
Created by: www.OnlineAssociatesDegree.com

Water Fun Facts

/in /by

Check out the water trivia on our Water Quiz page!

See how many random facts about water you know!

Project CENTS

/in /by

For those teachers looking to add environmental education to their K-8 curriculum, there’s a great new resource from the TDOE! It’s called Project CENTS (Conservation Education Now for Tennessee Students), and it lists activities from such groups as Project WET, WILD, and Learning Tree, along with the Tennessee standards they correspond to! So if you’re looking for a particular activity set for your grade, check out their comprehensive list and then consult the posted activity guides.

Project Cents is located here. Thanks to all the teachers and staff who cross-checked and verified the activities and standards to make it easy for the rest of us!

Water Quality Curriculum

/in /by

New – check out all the activities we’ve been doing this year in our education and outreach! Many thanks to Project WET for ideas or activities from their curriculum and to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

Water Quality Activity Handbook

Tennessee American and TenneSEA!

/in /by

Tennessee American Water Company is embarking on its first annual community grant-giving in Chattanooga! And TenneSEA has been chosen as one of the recipients of the grant!!

Mary Beth picked up our check this week in a ceremony to honor all the award recipients. Joining our ranks are South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance, Tennessee Aquarium, Howard High School, and Lookout Mountain Conservancy.

Our grant will go towards installing rain garden plants at a school along Mountain Creek and hosting a rain garden workshop. We’re excited to make this green installation happen!!

You think you’ve heard every idea about saving the earth…

/in /by

…And then someone shows you how to use a paper towel.

 

It seems silly, but Joe brings up a great point- how many paper towels do your dainty little hands really need to be dried? For that matter, how many napkins will you really need at the restaurant?  How about the useless plastic of straws?  There are so many little everyday things that we use that really make an impact!

 

Let’s REDUCE, Reuse, Recycle!

It’s that time again…

/in /by

.. to start thinking about summer camps!

We have 2 weeks of summer camp planned this year, and it’s definitely one you don’t want to miss!!

The first one-week session is on Signal Mountain, and the next one-week session is based at Greenway Farms in Hixson. Check out the flyer for more info, and e-mail Laura to sign up for camp!

World Water Day!!

/in /by

Today is World Water Day!

Did you know that Matt Damon (yes, that Matt Damon) co-founded a non-profit called water.org that works to bring clean water to communities world-wide!

Here are a few quick stats featured on the sidebar of the main page:

  • Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness. (Just a few years ago, it was once every 15 seconds. We’ve come a long way in a short time!)
  • Collectively, women spend 200 million hours a day collecting water. The average woman walks 3.7 miles to bring water for her family.
  • More than 3 times the number of people living in the US lack clean water. That’s close to 900 million people who don’t have clean drinking water.
  • Only 10% of wastewater around the world gets treated.
  • One tenth of the global disease burden could be removed by improving water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and water resource management.
  • More people in the world own a mobile phone than have a toilet!
  • There’s a major cost discrepancy at play: in the 1st world countries, personal income is high and cost of water is low, while in the 3rd world, personal income is low and the cost of water is high!

So consider donating your voice, your money, or your time in the next few weeks to help with a water cleanup or restoration project. And be grateful for that hot shower you can take afterwards!