The Reef Stewardship Foundation is happy to announce that the Columbus Zoo Foundation has awarded the RSF a $5,000 conservation technology grant. Our grant proposal titled “Conservation in the Classroom: A Technology and Inquiry-Based Approach to Ocean Literacy” was funded earlier this year.

The grant funds will be used to put computers and digital cameras into K-12 science classrooms that participate in in future RSF research studies. We have already identified one high school in Southeast Texas that will be pilot testing the equipment. We will be posting more details about the project in the near future.

Over the next few years, the RSF will focus on accomplishing the following goals utilizing the equipment purchased from these grant funds:

1. Train K-12 students (approximately 150-200 students per year) in ocean and watershed conservation efforts, knowledge of scientific methods, and understanding of the nature of science and its interaction with society and technology.

2. Implement professional development trainings for 5-10 K-12 teachers per year in order to increase their knowledge of environmental and conservation education and demonstrate appropriate teaching strategies for the classroom.

3. Equip three K-12 teachers’ classrooms with computer technology to support their participation in ocean literacy educational research programs for several years.

4. Utilize the research study findings focused on integration of technology into the K-12 classroom to improve the CORALS program and inform the larger conservation and environmental education communities on strategies that motivated and engaged the students and teachers.

Look for more details soon.