SEEDS—Students Engaging in the Environment through Discovery and Science

Many people do not know that the Flower Garden Banks exists, just 100 miles from the Texas coast, and is such a healthy ecosystem. It is considered a sentinel site. What better way to spread the word about our own underwater national park than by children telling children!

Yorkshire Academy continues the culture of supporting all aspects of education and it is a perfect environment to “plant” SEEDS (Students Engaging the Environment by Discovery and Science). Interested second through fifth graders begin their year of SEEDS by meeting one day a week during lunch to learn about, and discuss our beautiful marine sanctuary. Understanding the complexities of the sanctuary’s local ecosystems requires learning about all of the components. This includes the underlying geology, a variety of habitats, the larger context of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and its watersheds, as well as the specific plants and animals found within the sanctuary. Once students come to know about the sanctuary, they will care about it.

There will be no tests or formal assessments. The only requirements to become a SEED are serious interest and commitment for exciting and fun lunch discussions each week.

Our students will be ocean advocates and, when they are ready, and feel confident they will continue to pass their knowledge on to fellow students and visit other schools and share their knowledge of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. SEEDS students have presented to Rice University's doctoral students, Lone Star College undergraduate students, Nottingham Country Elementary Gifted and Talented students, as well as the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Board to share what they had learned about the sanctuary.