Floating Classrooms

The WEC provides on-the-water field labs to "educate the public on the importance of coastal issues" through hands-on training in the natural environment. Programs such as this provide bridges between classroom facts and real world applications of coastal resources' functions and values. The need for these programs is continual due to the steady stream of youth who populate our coastal regions. Environmental education should begin at an early age. A floating classroom introduces students, many for the first time, to the coastal resources they will be expected to protect in the future. It fosters an understanding of the importance of these resources. Any group could have tomorrow's biologist, park manager or government leader in its midst. Regardless of the future leader potential of a group, each participant, as a coastal resident, can be expected to come into contact with coastal resources through recreation, travel, work and politics. The knowledge they gain through this program will develop into respect and appreciation for coastal resources that will make participants the kind of environmental stewards Texas needs. The WEC's floating classroom program implements the Galveston Bay Estuary Program's Public Participation and Education Action Plan. In compliance with the GBEP's plan, the WEC works "to establish effective, ongoing public involvement with Galveston Bay resource management efforts at all levels; to improve future stewardship through education of students and the adult public concerning the Bay ecosystem; and to invoke the public commitment and political will necessary to achieve effective comprehensive management."