Applications due before midnight on April 209
This week, Big Waters Land Trust, formerly the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, introduced a new Bay Explorers Summer Experience. Registration is open “for this immersive week of education and exploration designed for historically underserved youth” ages 14 to 18, a news release says. “The free program was specifically designed to be accessible to youth in the North Sarasota and Newtown neighborhoods”; however, any young people between ages 14 and 18 who reside in Sarasota or Manatee counties with financial need are eligible to apply for the program, the release points out.
“Traveling across the Sarasota Bay watershed, from the coast to the uplands, program participants will learn, observe, and actively engage with the local built and natural environment,” the release explains. “Participating youth will learn about past, present, and future issues facing Sarasota Bay and how land use, human activity, and water quality affect environmental health, the economy, and our quality of life,” the release continues. “They’ll also learn new outdoor recreational skills, such as kayaking, fishing, and snorkeling,” the release notes.
“Diving into the ecological, political, and economic factors influencing bay water quality,” the release adds, leaders of Big Waters Land Trust hope “to empower youth to be active agents of positive change within the community,” the release says. Representatives of the nonprofit’s partner organizations also will speak with the Bay Explorers Summer Experience participants, “to share their important work and missions related to Sarasota Bay while demonstrating our area’s diverse environmental career opportunities,” the release points out.
“Two identical, one-week [Monday through Friday], all-inclusive field trip experiences for up to 10 participants per week will be offered” through the program, the release continues. Each participant will be provided transportation, via a 13-passenger van, plus lunch and snacks each day, as well as “all supplies and equipment for daily activities, including a pair of water shoes to keep, and a $100 stipend,” the release says. Upon program completion, the release explains, the stipend will be distributed as a Visa gift card, “to cover other costs related to participation.”
Pick-up and drop-off each day will occur at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, which stands at 1845 John Rivers St. in the Newtown community of Sarasota, the release notes.
Participants must commit to attending all five days of the session for which they apply, the release points out.
Applications for the Bay Explorers Summer Experience will close at 11:59 p.m. on April 20, the release says. Applicants “will be notified about their selection status shortly thereafter,” it adds.
While the Bay Explorers Summer Experience will be presented by the Big Waters Land Trust, it will be funded by the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program through a Bay Partners Grant, the release notes. The program also has the support of other community partners, the release adds: Manatee County Government’s Natural Resources Department; the Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources and Public Works departments; the Sarasota Audubon Society; the City of Sarasota’s Parks and Recreation Department and the city’s Robert L. Taylor Community Complex; Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point Campus; the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota and Manatee Counties; the Sarasota Housing Authority; and The Multicultural Health Institute.
To apply for the program, visit bigwaterslandtrust.org/summerexperience.