11-124-CWS | December 8, 2011
BILOXI, Miss. – The MDMR’s Seafood Technology Bureau (STB) is participating in an “Environmental Stewardship Program” that assists elementary schools in the three coastal counties affected by Hurricane Katrina. Qualified schools are encouraged to participate by submitting proof of destruction and a project proposal not to exceed $5,500, such as a bird watching corner, herb garden, an aquarium, or mini-butterfly garden.
Schools awarded this year were Magnolia Park Elementary, Pass Christian Center for Excellence in Education, Pass Road Elementary, Hancock North Elementary, D’Iberville Middle School, Gaston Point Elementary, Thomas L. Reeves Elementary, Anniston Avenue Elementary, and Woolmarket Elementary.
Projects include installing a saltwater fish tank, creating outdoor learning spaces with ponds and native plant species, gardening fresh vegetables to encourage children to make healthy eating choices, updating outdoor learning spaces, creating interactive learning centers focusing on coast living, planting grasses to decrease runoff on school property, and funding field trips to places such as Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
For a grant application and more information call Ruth Posadas or Jessica Rankin at 228-374-5000. Completed proposals are due by April 2012. The MDMR looks forward to each school’s involvement in this educational outreach program funded by federal Coastal Impact Assistance Plan (CIAP) funds. Grant recipients will be announced as soon as the CIAP funds are released. The stewardship program is a stepping stone that will lead young people to a continued involvement in community activities for the recovery and renewal of Mississippi Coast.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the state by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational, educational and economic uses of these resources consistent with environmental concerns and social changes. Visit the MDMR online at www.dmr.ms.gov.
Photo courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
Photo: Woolmarket Elementary gifted students, Anne Dang and Ginger Trochesset, add indigenous plants to their “Environmental Stewardship Program” project named Frog Hollow.
Contact: Shelly Becker
Phone: (228) 523-4051
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