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Navarre Marine Science Station briefs board on student programs, monitoring and grants
Summary
A longtime educator at the Navarre Marine Science Station updated the Santa Rosa County School Board about education programs, nearly $1 million in grant funding, water-quality monitoring, oyster work and community events including Autism Odyssey and the Gulf Coast Whale Festival.
Charlene Morrow, representing the Navarre Marine Science Station, gave the Santa Rosa County School Board an update on July 16 about education programs, grants and community events the station runs for county students.
“Over the years, we have secured, almost a million dollars in grant funding,” Morrow told the board as she summarized the station’s work with schools, local partners and volunteers.
Morrow said the station, now in its 17th year, teaches visiting school groups and hosts daily classes for home-schooled students and high-school students from several district schools. She said the station served about 3,000 Santa Rosa County students last year, most from the north end of the county.
Recent and ongoing activity includes a $70,000 grant from the Pensacola and Perdido Bay Estuary Program to build a small laboratory and buy water-quality equipment (YSI instruments) for monthly sampling at four nutrient hotspots in Santa Rosa Sound. The station also supports monthly red-tide sampling coordinated with Fish and Wildlife and is studying oyster spat growth under a Fish and Wildlife permit.
Morrow discussed the station’s community events: the Gulf Coast Whale Festival (a public outreach event focused on endangered Gulf of Mexico whales) and Autism Odyssey, a 13th annual event that provides adaptive outdoor activities for families of children with special needs; Morrow said organizers expect about 140 families this year. She also noted a “Snowbird Science by the Sea” adult education class and that several former students have gone on to marine‑science careers and presented with her at conferences.
Board members thanked Morrow and noted the board of county commissioners leases the building on Navarre Beach where the station operates. Morrow closed by pointing trustees to a QR code for more information and offering to answer questions.
