Naples, FL – Audubon Florida is pleased to announce it has received a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Collier County. These funds will support the Insect Adventures and Wild Florida Adventure Program for 2nd and 5th grade students at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
For over a decade, Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has worked with the Collier County Public School (CCPS) District to provide environmental education to students and teachers. The Sanctuary is part of the Collier County Public School Field Trip Specialist program. This collaborative program between CCPS, Corkscrew, Rookery Bay Reserve, Conservancy of Southwest Florida, CREW and Big Cypress National Preserve provides systematic environmental education field trip experiences that coordinate across environmental organizations and grade levels. Corkscrew’s 13,000 acres of wetlands, pine flats and uplands, wet prairies, and cypress swamp is a diverse ecosystem that provides exploratory, hands-on environmental education that allows children to experience the richness of Florida’s natural resources.
Teachers complete in-depth training and co-teach with our environmental educators. Corkscrew educators encourage and support teachers to write curriculum for classroom lessons that complement learning activities at the Sanctuary. Second and fifth graders learn about conservation and wildlife through two specialized, state-approved curriculums: Insect Adventures and Wild Florida. These programs provide systematic environmental education field trip experiences that foster skills central to critical thinking and problem solving as well as many other state learning objectives and vocabulary for proficiency in the sciences. Learning at Corkscrew Sanctuary allows students to utilize their innate curiosity for exploring, process information in new, fun, and novel ways, and connect their lessons to real-world context.
According to Lisa Korte, Sanctuary Director: “Corkscrew Swamp is grateful for the grant from Community Foundation of Collier County. This support is valuable for our education programs at the Sanctuary, where students take their classroom learning to the field. This is an excellent investment in the future environmental stewards of Collier County.”
The Community Foundation of Collier County awards annual grants through a competitive application and review process. Selected organizations receive grant dollars from the Changing Needs Fund. This Fund is made up of donors who believe in the Community Foundation’s ability to identify and grant to the most community’s most current needs.
About Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, recently recognized as the newest Wetland of Distinction by the Society of Wetland Scientists, has been an Audubon-protected nature site for more than 100 years. It protects 13,000 acres, including the world’s largest remaining, old-growth bald cypress forest. An estimated 100,000 visitors annually explore the Sanctuary’s 2.25 miles of boardwalk through ancient forest and marsh habitat.
The Blair Audubon Visitor Center and boardwalk are open every day of the year from 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., with the last admission at 4:30 p.m. Visit www.corkscrew.audubon.org for more information.
About the Community Foundation of Collier County
The Community Foundation of Collier County is a tax-exempt, public, charitable organization, established in 1985 to increase and focus private philanthropy in the area. Today, the Community Foundation of Collier County manages more than 750 funds, serves hundreds of nonprofits, holds $214 million in assets and has distributed more than $152 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and community programs since its inception in 1985. The Community Foundation of Collier County is one of Florida’s fastest-growing community foundations. For good. Forever. Learn more at cfcollier.org or call 239-649-5000.
