The Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi, Miss., will host a Natural Science Teacher Workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 18 at its facility at 1815 Popps Ferry Road. The workshop is targeted toward 5th- to 8th-grade teachers along the Gulf Coast.
Participants will receive free educational supplies for their classrooms, 0.8 Continuing Education Units, lesson plans and more.
Natural resource professionals from Mississippi State University, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and DeSoto National Forest will educate teachers about local management issues used to protect coastal ecosystems. Teachers will specifically learn about forest ecology and management, watershed science, coastal ecology, wildlife conservation, habitat management and educational resources and curriculum development.
Break-out sessions will allow participants to conduct hands-on activities to build a better understanding of the concepts and management practices taught during the lecture portions of the class. These hands-on demonstrations will prove to be a valuable tool when teaching their students in the classroom next fall.
This workshop is sponsored by the Mississippi 4-H Program, paid for in part by the Toyota 4-H20 Program.
To register, contact Chris Boyd, assistant extension professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture for Mississippi State University and ecology specialist with Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, at (228) 546-1025 or cboyd@ext.msstate.edu. Early birds register free. A $10 late registration fee will be charged after June 15.