Grasses in the Classes

Overview
The Grasses in the Classes program is a hands-on education project that gives students a direct role in habitat restoration. The project has been designed to provide 6th grade students environmental education experiences through hands-on interactive learning labs.  The Good Samaritan Institute has added a 21st century edge by providing virtual in-classroom labs and data sharing opportunities through website based activities.  A dedicated website, developed by GSI, will allow teachers to access video labs and virtual field trips.  A big part of the project is to promote collaboration between teachers and students.  Areas on the website will include data collection sharing, question and answer forums, posting of pictures and video and accessing resource materials.  project focuses on key habitats located in and unique to Northwest Florida.  Curriculum is correlated to the Florida Sunshine State Science Standards supporting teachers in standards based instruction.  At the culmination of the program, students will participate in a  meaningful watershed experience with the planting of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) grown in the classroom. necessary to filtration and overall health of the fresh waterways in Northwest Florida.  Grasses in the Classes will help restore Northwest Florida’s unique habitats while providing middle school students the opportunity to work with environmental professionals to solve real world ecological problems. 

Environmental Areas of Focus
The ecology of Northwest Florida is very diverse in composition from the fresh water rivers in the northern part of the region to the Gulf of Mexico in the southern end.  The Grasses in the Classes program will highlight three of these habitats, Coastal Dune Lakes, Long Leaf Pine Forest and Barrier Beach, and engage students in understanding the importance of conservation of these ecosystems through activities and stewardship.

Coastal Dune Lakes
Coastal Dune Lakes occur only a few places in the world.  New Zealand's Northland, Australia's Queensland, Madagascar, and Florida's Northwest Gulf Coast are home to these natural wonders.  Also known as "Aeolian" Lakes, our Coastal Dune Lakes were created by wind that eroded the rock and redistributed the sand.  The lakes are between 2,000 and 10,000 years old. They are also fairly shallow with an average depth of 2 to 3 meters.  The lakes are generally permanent water bodies, although water levels may fluctuate substantially due to rain, groundwater seepage through the surrounding coastal sands, and storms. Sand dunes ranging in height from a few feet to more than 30 feet separate the lakes from the Gulf of Mexico.

Panhandle Leaf Pine Forest
The Florida Panhandle has some of the largest longleaf pine forests in the world contained in portions of four counties, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton and Holmes.  Approximately 2 percent of the original forest of old growth longleaf pines remains, what is left is part of an incredibly diverse region that is under a highly regulated restoration effort.  Long Leaf Pine are fire tolerant and require fire exposure for seeds to germinate.  It is a member of what ecologist term a “Fire Climax” community.  There are at least 122 endangered or threatened species associated with this system such as the Red Cockaded Woodpecker, Gopher Tortoise, Eastern Indigo Snake and the Florida Pine Snake.

Barrier Beach
The Barrier Islands of Northwest Florida are comprised of almost pure milky quartz, leading some to claim they are the whitest sand beaches in the world (the sand is so high in quartz that it squeaks when walked on). The sands have their origin in the piedmont, delivered to the Gulf by rivers, and reworked by the wind and waves.  This same process also keeps the islands "moving" by a constant give and take from erosion and redistribution of sand. The redistribution of the sands by wind gives us dunes, which are colonized by plants that catch and stabilize the sand like Sea Oats. Low areas between the dunes where the sand is blown away down to the ground water are called swales, and here some distinctive wetland plants like Red Root and the carnivorous Sundews can be found.