Cool Projects Regional Gulf States Activity

Gulf Alliance Educator Public Outreach Campaign

Communities throughout the five Gulf of Mexico States and beyond make decisions and take actions that will ultimately affect the ecological health of the Gulf. To promote positive stewardship of this shared regional resource, the Gulf Alliance Educators work to activate local communities by increasing awareness of the Gulf of Mexico and thus the desire to enhance and protect it. Other goals of this project include partnering with the media to promote public awareness about the Gulf and collaborating with Priority Issue Teams to meet Alliance educational objectives and identify public awareness messages.

Redesign of the www.supportthegulf.org, website, which will be online in early 2009, is a key outreach effort designed to inspire viewers about Florida's actions and commitment to the Gulf Alliance. The website will include a Media Center as a "one stop shop" for reporters seeking accurate and timely information about the Alliance and the Gulf of Mexico in general. The site will also showcase the work of Priority Issue Team representatives, including projects to improve water quality, build resilient communities, and reduce nutrient pollution. As part of its multi-media approach, the site will contain six short videos that highlight PIT representatives and their work.

Another element of the public awareness campaign is development of the "Gulf of Mexico Minute" Public Service Announcements (PSAs), also available for download as podcasts on www.supportthegulf.org. To date, Alliance Educators have produced 40 radio PSAs that reach 7,400 listeners on a local NPR affiliate station. The PSAs educate the general public about the Gulf and its coastal resources and conclude with stewardship messages. Educators are currently exploring the potential to translate the PSAs into Spanish and plan to package and distribute them to educators and media partners.

These projects and the two Florida Gulf Alliance Educators are funded through a Gulf of Mexico Alliance grant from the EPA awarded to Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed areas and managed jointly by the Rookery Bay and Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserves.

Overview of Additional Outreach Projects:

Southwest Florida Latino Environmental Education Network (SWFLEEN): Partnering with representatives from Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, Sea Grant, Lee County government and Rookery Bay, Alliance Educators are helping to coordinate four bi-lingual sustainability workshops to identify Latino community leaders and environmental educational needs. Coordinators also submit articles addressing Alliance related issues to the quarterly, bi-lingual SWFLEEN newsletter that is distributed in three counties.
Presentations: Worked with PIT representatives and federal partners to develop handouts on Alliance successes in Florida and Action Plan II as well as a power point presentation for the FL GOMA Community Input Workshops.
Coastal Cities Summit: To promote the GOMA priority issue of increased coastal community resilience, Educators organized, facilitated, and presented about initiatives to enhance resilience along Florida's Gulf Coast.
Gulf of Mexico Alliance Community Input Workshops: Community members were updated on Gulf of Mexico Alliance actions and asked to provide critical input on the new Alliance Action Plan during four community workshops coordinated by Florida's Gulf Alliance Educators. Approximately 170 participants discussed outreach strategies, technical and informational needs, and policy recommendations at workshops in Naples (12/3), Apalachicola (12/10), Sarasota (12/15) and Tampa (1/14). Partners and hosts of the workshops included Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mote Marine Laboratory, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Florida Aquarium, the Pier Aquarium, Gulf Coast Ocean Observing System, the University of South Florida, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Whole Foods, Calvin, Giordano and Associates and Aramark Food and Catering Services. These partnerships resulted in over $3,600 donations and a reinvigoration of Florida's network of agencies, organizations and individuals that support the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. Florida is the first of the Gulf States to hold public input workshops on the new Governors' Action Plan, and the comments generated have been sent to NOAA's Coastal Services Center where they will be compiled into a report and given meaningful review by the Alliance's federal partners and appropriate Priority Issue Teams.