ATLANTA - Today, the Gulf of Mexico Plan announced Bay Point Elementary School in Saint Petersburg, Fla. will gain a 1st Place 2015 Gulf Guardian Award in the Youth Environmental Education Category. The award will be given tonight at an awards ceremony at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Diane Altsman, Chief of Staff of the Gulf of Mexico Plan said, "This is the 13
th year if the Gulf Guardian Awards Program, and I am proud to say that each year the winners in all categories have represented the very best of environmental accomplishments in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico Plan partnership works to enhance the environmental health of the Gulf, and the Gulf Guardian Awards is an important way for us to recognize these valuable efforts."
Upon learning about sea turtle tracking from class discussions, and wanting to do something to help ocean animals, eight-year old Cory Diaz decided she would raise money to support iTAG as her gifted class community service plan at Bay Point Elementary in Saint Petersburg, Fla. To do this Cory started a bi-national, volunteer-led Utag for iTag campaign where 100% of funds support Gulf research to put the "U" and "me" in iTag. The indefinitely sustainable plan benefits Gulf health and productivity in 2 ways. First, it is generating funds to support the purchase of telemetry tags that enable an international collaboration. The advance in Gulf telemetry creates new ways to help scientists monitor the status and trends of marine vertebrates, particularly their responses to environmental stressors. Secondly, the plan is hosted at a school where community awareness and ocean stewardship will have long-term benefits to the Gulf ecosystem. The Utag for iTAG is a model for other developing U.S. Animal Telemetry Networks and can be readily exported to meet local needs. With the support of Gulf iTAG Chair, Dr. Sue Lowerre-Barbieri, and OTN Executive Director, Dr. Fred Whoriskey, hundreds of dollars via grassroots and crowdsourcing efforts, and awareness across state and national borders has been raised to purchase tags.
The Gulf of Mexico Plan initiated the Gulf Guardian awards in 2000 as a way to recognize and honor the businesses, community groups, individuals, and agencies that are taking positive steps to keep the Gulf healthy, beautiful and productive. First, 2nd and 3rd place awards are given in 7 categories: individual, business/industry, youth environmental education, civic/nonprofit organizations, cultural diversity/environmental justice, partnership and bi-national efforts.
The Gulf of Mexico Plan began in 1988 to protect, restore, and maintain the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem in economically sustainable ways. The Gulf of Mexico Plan is underwritten by the E.P.A. and is a non-regulatory, inclusive consortium of state and federal government agencies and representatives of the business and agricultural community, fishing industry, scientists, environmentalists, and community leaders from all 5 Gulf States. The Gulf Plan looks for to enhance the environmental health of the Gulf in concert with economic development.
Connect with E.P.A. Region four on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/eparegion4
And on Twitter: @EPASoutheast
