Florida Youth Attend Sarasota Ocean Conservation Summit

Sarasota, FL – More than 100 students attended the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit hosted November 12 at Mote Marine Laboratory. The event was part of an educational outreach effort organized by the Stow It – Don’t Throw It Marine Debris Prevention Project. Students worked with mentors from local environmental organizations to identify ocean conservation issues and to help develop action plans to address these problems.

Participating organizations included the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, One More Generation, the Florida Aquarium, Brevard Zoo, Florida 4-H, Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Trek Program and Mote’s Marine Policy Institute, as well mentors from Mote’s Research and Education departments.

Projects which emerged from the summit include planting projects to restore estuary areas in Sarasota Bay, school projects aimed at educating peers about important environmental issues, recycling projects, media presentations to raise awareness about ocean conservation, as well as work to expand the efforts of the Stow It – Don’t Throw It fishing line recycling project.

Work at the Summit ended with a call to action video message featuring Dr. Eugenie Clark, founder and Director Emeritus of Mote Marine Laboratory, Dr. Kumar Mahadevan, Mote’s President and CEO, Dr. David Vaughan, Director of Mote’s Center for Coral Reef Research, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Ocean Futures Society President, the noted marine life artist Wyland, Steve Culbertson, President and CEO of Youth Service America, Philippe Cousteau, CEO of EarthEcho International and Jordan Howard, a youth environmental activist.