Mote’s Mommy & Me program awarded prestigious grant
Harrison Duke looks with Mandy Wrobel, Mote staff, at the fish caught in her dip net with his mother Danielle at Mommy & Me.
Mote Marine Laboratory’s Mommy & Me Exploring the Bay program was awarded a $10,000 “Nature Play Begins at Your Zoo & Aquarium” from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA).
Mommy & Me is an early childhood educational class available for children and their favorite adults to learn together through marine-themed crafts, games, songs, stories, role-plays, science tools, and special guided visits Mote Aquarium.
Exploring the Bay invites young children and adults to explore coastal habitats of Sarasota Bay by wading in the water and collecting marine animals with dip nets. Tuesday classes depend on good weather. Participants must wear closed-toed, closed-heel water shoes. Activities in Tuesday classes repeat every week, but the animals found will provide an element of surprise.
- For registration and class times, visit https://mote.org/education/kids-families/mommy-me
“We are so thankful for this grant, which will support our Exploring the Bay with Mommy and Me at Mote program and also allow us to expand programming to reach new audiences and community partners,” said Miranda Wrobel, Senior Coordinator of Public Programs. “Our goal is to inspire children’s’ interest in marine research and conservation in a fun and engaging way in hopes of creating a better environment for our communities to enjoy.”
Through educational programs like Mommy & Me, Mote connects families to the natural world to make a positive difference in their communities as future environmental stewards. By getting out into nature and connecting family's with their communities outdoor resources through engaging innovative, play experiences, they will develop lifelong conservation values.
With support from the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF), the competitive “Nature Play Begins at Your Zoo & Aquarium” grants, selected through a rigorous review by a panel of industry experts, are being presented to AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to encourage family nature play and conservation education.
“AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums play an important role in connecting children and families to nature,” said Amy Rutherford, Director of Professional Development & Public Engagement at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “These grants support programs that engage community partners to reach new audiences, help families develop comfort and confidence spending time in nature, and inspire the next generation of conservationists.”
AZA offered the Nature Play grant opportunity to AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to provide financial, logistical and creative support to increase or enhance family-centered nature experiences in their communities. This program is a partnership with the Children & Nature Network, building on their successful Family Nature Club initiative.
Research has shown that free play immersed in an outdoor setting is fundamental to connecting children with the natural world around them. The value of these experiences is further reinforced when shared as a family unit. The awards of $5,000 or $10,000 were made available to extend existing family-based nature play programming or to create new, innovative, and engaging programs. Preference was given to those organizations that extended programs to off grounds settings and who formed partnerships with community organizations to reach new audiences and provide diverse nature experiences. Applicants were also evaluated on how they addressed and reduced common barriers to nature play for children and families.
A total of 37 grant recipients were selected to receive a combined total of $270,000 in awards.