Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

Marine Ed Center Issues Call for Volunteer Educators

February 1, 2007

Ocean Springs, Miss.—If you have a passion for helping children discover the wonders of the coastal environment first-hand, J.L. Scott Marine Education Center (MEC) may have the place for you. Applications are being accepted now for docents and education volunteers.

Docents are trained volunteers who share their knowledge and sense of environmental stewardship with students in the classroom through hands-on marine discovery.

“Only 10 docent positions are available this year,” said Donna Rutherford, docent coordinator. “Katrina may have reduced our facility, but not our programs. The J.L. Scott Marine Education Center is going strong, with both on-site and school-based programs.”

Docents assist staff educators with three Project Marine Discovery programs featuring live animal encounters: ABCs of Coastal Mississippi for preschoolers and Marine Encounters for K-12, both based at the MEC, and the in-school discovery program, “On-the-Road”.

“If you want to impart a sense of stewardship and environmental responsibility in students pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, then the docent program is for you,” said Dr. Shelia Brown, interim director of the MEC. “Docents are a vital part of our team, especially when it comes to hands-on learning with live marine plants and animals.”

Docent applications are available online at www.usm.edu/marineeducation. Submission deadline is Feb.16. For applications or more information call 228.818.8890 or email marine.education@usm.edu.

The J.L. Scott Marine Education Center is the community outreach and education arm of The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. The center has relocated to the GCRL site post-Katrina.