The attractive waters, pleasant climate, sunny shores, and vibrant green areas of Palm Beach County are what make it a desirable place to live. These factors attract visitors and encourage businesses to establish themselves here, fueling a strong economy and an appealing way of life.
As someone raised in Palm Beach County who has reaped the advantages of our natural spaces, I feel a duty to safeguard them so that upcoming generations can experience the same advantages and maintain the well-being of our community. As teachers, decision-makers, donors, and citizens determine which expenses to reduce and which to maintain, I encourage them to support environmental education programs that will provide long-term advantages for Palm Beach County.
An affordable method to achieve this is by funding STEM summer programs that support classroom learning, engaging students in practical, thought-provoking exercises that utilize Palm Beach County’s natural environments to inspire their potential careers in preserving our distinct coastal ecosystems.
Offering environmental education programs for local young people enhances academic growth, encourages local job opportunities, and builds practical connections. The Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s Junior Marine Biologist summer camp is among the limited environmental programs available to students in this region. Every year, participants are excited to engage with wildlife and show a deep commitment to protecting their environments. It is essential that we offer them these chances.
Locate additional funding for STEM summer programs in Palm Beach County
With the conclusion of the summer camp season, I have identified three important lessons from our recent campers that highlight the necessity of increasing investment in environmental education opportunities.
Initially, the campers are eager to connect with nature and are driven to acquire knowledge. They desire to feel the waves touching their feet, observe sea turtle patients receiving care at our facility, and gather and analyze water samples filled with various organisms. They aim to apply STEM skills by identifying species using scientific tools, gathering data, and interpreting findings. As they explored the shoreline of Blowing Rocks Preserve, collected plankton in Lake Worth Lagoon, and identified marine creatures under the Juno Beach Pier, the students stayed completely involved, focusing on the experience rather than their mobile devices. They developed a genuine connection with the ocean, understanding how it sustains all life, how much of it remains unknown, and how human activities significantly impact our marine environments.
Second, there is a significant need for increased environmental education opportunities in Palm Beach County. Numerous campers experienced the county’s renowned coastal regions for the first time at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area, and the Lake Worth Lagoon. Now that they have visited these locations, they are eager to return. I commend Superintendent Michael Burke of the School District of Palm Beach County for the Community Experiences Initiative, a program that offers middle and high school students chances to discover arts, science, nature, history, and civic resources throughout the county. Young people are not engaging with nature often enough, and we must create more opportunities to assist these efforts both inside and outside of school hours.
Finally, friendships formed at camp have gone beyond city and town boundaries. Campers from various backgrounds came to know, respect, and trust one another through shared experiences in the natural environment. Our campers built connections and created lasting memories. The camp quickly turned into more than just a location; it became a community where safety, structure, and a feeling of belonging enabled children to take risks, face failures, try again, and ultimately succeed. I saw quiet kids come out of their shells while others learned to step back and allow their peers to express themselves. We understand that effective public policy relies on cooperative decision-making. When relationships are based on shared values, public policy can be developed more easily and with less conflict.
Not every one of our young marine biologists will go on to work in STEM fields, but all will depart camp as knowledgeable, more engaged, and proud guardians of the environment. I encourage our policymakers and key stakeholders to focus on funding environmental education programs that bring children into, onto, and around the natural spaces they will inherit from us. This is an investment in maintaining the core reason why our children will decide to live, work, and succeed here—just as I did.
Hannah Campbell serves as the Education Vice President at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center located in Juno Beach.
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This piece first was published in the Palm Beach Post:Investing in environmental education is beneficial for the future of Palm Beach County | Opinion
