Earthwatch Institute – Tropicana Field will welcome six special local teachers April 30, courtesy of a unique partnership between the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Earthwatch Institute. Sunday’s pre-game ceremony will include an awards presentation to the winning teachers, who get to work alongside leading scientists on research expeditions around the globe. These innovative educational awards are a result of a generous contribution to Earthwatch by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays team.
From studying global warming in the Arctic to exploring the rainforest of Puerto Rico, Earthwatch expeditions provide educators with an opportunity to gain global perspectives on important conservation challenges. “An Earthwatch Expedition appeals to me because I am excited to share what I will have learned with my students, my colleagues and the community,” wrote one winner, Amy Petersen, of the MacFarlane Park Magnet School for International Studies in Tampa; ” I am excited to demonstrate to others that it is important and possible to become involved with conservation.” Petersen will spend 8 days in June working with scientists at an archaeological site in the American Southwest.
“Research expeditions and baseball might seem to be an unlikely alliance,” said Rays President Matt Silverman, “but we feel it is a creative way of rewarding some very deserving local heroes.”
“The Earthwatch experience changes lives and adds a whole new perspective to hands-on science and discovery,” said Carly Johnston, Earthwatch’s volunteer Field Representative for Tampa, and veteran of an Earthwatch black rhino project in Kenya. “It would be great if other organizations throughout the nation (and world) would follow in the footsteps of what the Devil Rays are doing for Tampa Bay teachers.”
Not only will the six teachers receive the Rays Environmental Education Award, covering their expedition expenses, but each teacher’s school will also receive $2500.
Over the past 35 years, more than 4,000 teacher fellows have received training and inspiration on Earthwatch expeditions. Classrooms across the nation also benefit from the Earthwatch “Live from the Field” program, where students can follow the adventures of teachers in the field through the latest in communication technologies. Earthwatch is expanding its reach in education this September with the broadcast of a HD documentary program, “A Year on Earth,” by Discovery Network.
Winners of the Rays Environmental Education Award & their Earthwatch projects:
1) Sharon Cutler, Lawton Chiles Elementary School, Tampa, Diamondback Terrapins of Barnegat Bay
2) Sara DePerro, Thurgood Marshall Middle School, St. Petersburg, Puerto Rico’s Rainforest
3) Tracey Keim, St Petersburg High Wildlife Trails of the American West
4) Sharlene Lee Campbell Park Marine Science Center Climate Change at the Arctic’s Edge
5) Randy McGonegal, Palm Harbor University High, Palm Harbor Conserving the Pantanal, Brazil
6) Amy Petersen, MacFarlane Park Magnet School for International Studies, Prehistoric Pueblos of the American Southwest
More about Earthwatch and these expeditions at www.earthwatch.org
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To interview the winning teachers:
Blue Magruder
[email protected]
Director of Public Affairs
800-776-0188 x 136
Delta Willis
[email protected]
Communications & Media Manager
800 776-0188 x 179
More about the Devil Rays Environmental Education Award
Devil Rays Public Relations Office, 727-825-3242
