Invasive Species Community Outreach

Project Summary

78 students connected classroom science to their own coastline, studying how invasive species contribute to Gulf Coast land loss, then took the conversation further by gathering community and legislative input on how the issue is being addressed.

Detailed Story

Julie’s students worked through several TCI Learning Labs over the course of the year, including Invasive Species, Floods and Droughts, and Renewable Energy. Of the three, the Invasive Species lab resonated most, because students could draw a direct line between the curriculum and a crisis unfolding in their own backyard: the loss of land along the Gulf Coast, to which invasive species are a known contributor.

Rather than stopping at the science, students took the topic into the community. They gathered input on how legislators are approaching the issue and studied projections of just how much coastal land stands to be lost to invasive species in the years ahead,  connecting classroom learning to active policy conversations happening around them.

Julie’s approach to rolling out the labs offers a useful model for other educators: start small. For her, that meant starting with Invasive Species, given its direct relevance to Gulf Coast land loss, before layering in Floods and Droughts and then Renewable Energy. She’s now hoping to bring additional Learning Labs into her classroom and get more teachers on board.

Impact Statement

78 students moved beyond the science of invasive species to engage directly with their community and elected officials, connecting classroom learning to real policy discussions about Gulf Coast land loss and building public awareness of long-term land-loss projections tied to invasive species.