Happy earth day 2023

Wherever You Are
Happy Earth Day! Wherever you are, we invite you to enjoy coastal nature and explore what it means to you. This year we are celebrating the power of Reserve education, which brings teachers, students, and community members together to learn about, study, and protect the special places we love so much.

Education at Reserves

Click on your local Reserve to learn more about their education efforts.

Students Get Muddy (& Soak in Some Science)

Getting muddy is a big draw, but for the 55,000+ students who visited Reserves last year, the lasting reward was a new way of looking at nature—through the lens of science. Students of all ages got to observe natural phenomena, ask questions, design research, collect data, and draw conclusions, all while learning about the benefits of healthy estuaries. Jump to top.

Learning about estuaries—and the critters that live there—starts early with Wisconsin’s Lake Superior Reserve‘s River Rovers program

Estuary Education

Teachers Wade In

Since 2014, more than 150 Texas teachers have shared their newfound expertise with approximately 12,000 students, thanks to the Mission-Aransas Reserve. 

Students aren’t the only ones who get restless in the classroom! Nationwide, more and more teachers are looking for nature-based experiences they can share with their students. They also need professional development opportunities to help them keep pace with Next Generation standards for science education. 

Reserves  provide access to local science and data, develop estuary-based curricula that responds directly to teacher needs, and offer field-based workshops, where teachers “wade in” to build their capacity to bring the wonder and science of estuaries back to the classroom. Jump to top.

Reserves Support Teachers On the Estuary

Teachers on the Estuary

Teachers on the Estuary

From Oregon to Alabama, educators are getting out of the classroom and into estuaries for workshops that use local research and data to build their capacity to teach estuary science.

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Communities Inspire: Estuaries Are for Everyone

We have local communities to thank for every Reserve in our national system. Each Reserve is here because a group of community members fought for a place that was so special, they knew they had to protect it for future generations.

This spirit does not stop with a Reserve’s designation. Community members are part of our extended family—the kind you are always happy to have visit! They clean up debris, become citizen scientists, support habitat restoration, build natural play areas, lead education programs, and most importantly, they inspire by reminding us that estuaries are for everyone. Jump to top.

Derelict debris is dangerous, and volunteers at the Weeks Bay Reserve were essential partners in cleaning it up and restoring natural habitat.

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Earth Day