- Since 1982, SeaWorld Orlando and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) have
provided hands-on education about conservation including marine
life, veterinary care, hydroponic gardening, beekeeping,
environmental conservation, and more
- Educational activities for students include field trips,
immersive experiences, hands on training, and class
discussion
- SeaWorld works closely with OCPS Eco Club students,
advising them on how to build and maintain a hydroponic garden to
grow lettuce for rehabilitating manatees and how to build an apiary
and care for bees whose honey is used in animal wound care
- Programs inspire next generation conservationists including
eighth-grade Eco Club member Marcus
Williams who plans to pursue a career in marine animal
care
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ORLANDO,
Fla., Aug. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SeaWorld
Orlando today announced it is celebrating 40 years of partnership
with Orange County Public
Schools (OCPS) in providing hands-on environmental and
conservation education. SeaWorld and OCPS together teach students
about marine life, veterinary care, hydroponic gardening,
beekeeping, environmental conservation and more through field
trips, immersive experiences and class discussions. The continued
partnership between SeaWorld and OCPS aims to inspire the next
generation to care for the environment and make a difference in the
natural world.
As part of this partnership, SeaWorld works closely with Eco
Club, a group of students within OCPS dedicated to environmental
conservation. Eco Club was started in 2016 at Millennia Gardens
Elementary School, a Title I school with a 95 percent minority
population and 100 percent involvement in the free and reduced
lunch program. Students in Eco Club learn about marine life,
agriculture, conservation and the natural world through fun,
hands-on activities centered around environmental education.
"Eco Club gives students an outlet to learn about the natural
world in ways that we never thought possible," said Dawn Chehab, teacher at Millennia Gardens
Elementary School and founding staff member of Eco Club. "We are so
grateful for the interactive educational experiences SeaWorld
continues to provide. It truly makes learning these important
topics fun for the students."
SeaWorld Helps Students Create Hydroponic Gardens to Grow
Restaurant Grade Lettuce to Feed Rehabilitating Manatees and Build
Apiaries for Honey Used in Animal Wound Care
To learn more about gardening and agriculture, students in Eco
Club built a 50-tower hydroponic garden with the ability to grow
more than 1,000 heads of lettuce at a time. After the lettuce was
successfully grown and SeaWorld helped the students secure
restaurant-grade certification, Eco Club was invited to SeaWorld
Orlando's Rescue and Rehabilitation Center where they were able to
help feed the lettuce to the manatees. Eco Club continues to
provide this lettuce to the manatees at SeaWorld Orlando and visits
the park annually to participate in the feedings.
Students in Eco Club at Westridge Middle School built and
continue to maintain an on-campus apiary to raise honeybees and
learn about beekeeping. The students bottle up the honey produced
in this apiary and donate gallons to SeaWorld Orlando's Rescue
& Rehabilitation Center. The honey is then used by SeaWorld's
animal care experts to heal wounds on injured rescued animals.
In-Park Education Experiences at SeaWorld
Enable Students to Learn More about Animal Care and
Conservation
Each year, the students in Eco Club are invited to stay
overnight behind-the-scenes at SeaWorld's Rescue and Rehabilitation
Center with animals like manatees and sea turtles. During this camp
sleepover, students take a deep educational dive to learn all about
different marine animal species and the efforts taken to ensure
their conservation. Students are given the opportunity to shadow
members of the SeaWorld Rescue team and learn about veterinary
medicine, animal rehabilitation, observe surgeries and learn how to
make formula for manatee calves.
In addition, SeaWorld invites Eco Club members from Millennia
Gardens Elementary and Westridge Middle School to take a field trip
to visit SeaWorld Orlando annually. Each student is accompanied by
their teacher and one parent for a full day of fun and hands-on
education to learn more about marine animal conservation and
care.
Programs Inspire Next Generation Conservationists, including
Eighth Grader Marcus Williams
Marcus Williams was a founding
member of Eco Club when he was in third grade at Millennia Gardens
Elementary. Now an eighth grader, Marcus has extended Eco Club into
Westridge Middle School and plans to bring the club to high school
next year. In the future, Marcus hopes to expand the footprint of
Eco Club into schools across America. He believes it is an
essential program that could help shape the future of students
nationwide, ensuring that conservation is at the forefront of
education.
"Eco Club has opened my eyes to a lot of opportunities I never
thought were possible," said Marcus
Williams, student at Westridge Middle School and founding
member of Eco Club. "My experience with SeaWorld has helped me
discover my true passions: helping animals, caring for the
environment and making a difference in the world."
Marcus has dreams of becoming a member of SeaWorld Rescue when
he grows up—much like his role model Jon
Peterson, VP of Zoological Operations at SeaWorld Orlando
and head of the SeaWorld Orlando Rescue team. One day, Marcus hopes
to take over and lead SeaWorld Rescue to help as many animals as
possible.
Jon Peterson added, "Working with
the students at Orange County
Public Schools has been one of the most rewarding and special
experiences I've had in my career. I have no doubt that these
students will grow up to make meaningful changes for the
environment and I feel humbled to have played a role in their
education."
Instilling Conservation Education in Youth Provides Hope for
the Future of the Environment
Students like Marcus have said that involvement in Eco Club,
hands-on education from OCPS teachers and time spent with SeaWorld
leaders have influenced them and their families to use less
water, recycle materials, treat animals with kindness and live
eco-friendly lives. The partnership between SeaWorld and OCPS has
brought heightened awareness to the issues plaguing the
environment, such as the manatees' unusual mortality event,
pollution and climate change. Immersion in the industry also helps
students consider potential career paths in animal care and
environmental conservation.
"Providing students with the ability to visit SeaWorld, explore
the rescue center and learn about marine life and conservation
opens their eyes to career opportunities that would otherwise not
be available to them," said Deborah
Pedraza, Executive Director at the Foundation for
Orange County Public Schools.
"This exposure to veterinary medicine, ocean conservation and
caring for the planet instills the importance of environmental
consciousness in the students."
SeaWorld has worked alongside students in Eco Club to help them
learn about philanthropy and the importance of giving back to their
communities in creative ways, seeing themselves as important
contributors to society. Students have written letters to key
legislators to facilitate environmental policy change, made lettuce
and honey donations to animals in need and educated other students
on their learnings within the partnership. These students have been
taught the important lesson that they can make a significant
difference, even at a young age.
About SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: SEAS) is a leading theme
park and entertainment company providing experiences that matter,
and inspiring guests to protect animals and the wild wonders of our
world. The Company is one of the world's foremost zoological
organizations and a global leader in animal welfare,
training, husbandry, and veterinary care. The Company
collectively cares for what it believes is one of the largest
zoological collections in the world and has helped lead advances in
the care of animals. The Company also rescues and rehabilitates
marine and terrestrial animals that are ill,
injured, orphaned, or abandoned, with the goal of
returning them to the wild. The SeaWorld® rescue
team has helped more than 40,000 animals in need over the
Company's history. SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. owns or
licenses a portfolio of recognized brands including
SeaWorld®, Busch Gardens®,
Aquatica®, Sesame Place® and Sea
Rescue®. Over its more than 60-year history, the Company
has built a diversified portfolio of 12 destination and regional
theme parks that are grouped in key markets across the United States, many of which showcase its
one-of-a-kind zoological collection. The Company's theme parks
feature a diverse array of rides, shows and other attractions with
broad demographic appeal which deliver memorable experiences and a
strong value proposition for its guests.
Media Contact:
swo.pr@seaworld.com
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SOURCE SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment