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Mosaic’s Hidden Gem
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Jun 10, 2009 - 8:05:12 PM

By Julie Ball
GIBSONTON -- Situated at the mouth of the ­Alafia River, ­Mosaic’s Coastal ­Education Center is an outdoor classroom created by Mosaic to teach 4th graders from local schools environmental education. It is managed and put on entirely by Mosaic employees on a volunteer basis

Situated at the mouth of the Alafia River on Hillsborough Bay, Mosaic’s Coastal Education Center is an outdoor classroom created to teach environmental education to fourth grade students in southeast Hillsborough County.

“The Center is truly a focal point of our commitment to environmental education and our local communities,” said Bo Davis, Mosaic VP of Phosphate Operations.
Recently the Mosaic Coastal ­Education Center was honored with the 2009 National Environmental Excellence Award for Educational Excellence from the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP).

“The Mosaic Coastal Education Center at Fiddler’s Cove demonstrates excellence in the vital arena of informing, educating and motivating young people to learn and care for their environment,” remarked Robert Cunningham, chairman of the NAEP awards committee.

Megan Ramirez and volunteer Christine Andrlik look for underwater critters to net.

Through a unique hands-on ­experience students are prepared for the science portion of the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT). The program was started in 2005 and has grown from just 12 docents (volunteer guides) to over 100 in 2009.

Mosaic employee Steve Quiggle helped Apollo Beach Elementary students Jon Alexander and Alex Mojica from Ms. McMullen’s 4th grade class use binoculars to look at wildlife on Bird Island. Julie Ball Photos

“Our employees who act as ­docents actually look forward to coming out and volunteering when it is their day,” said one of The Center’s co-managers Terry Kerr.
Each year around 500 4th graders from local elementary schools go through a day at the Coastal Education Center to learn hands on about plants and animals both in the water and on land.

The students are setup in small groups with their docents after a brief safety talk. They are given charts and pictures to help identify the things they see while at the Center.

The kids do everything from learning to use binoculars to testing the water quality around ­Fiddler’s Cove. They are even able to enter the shallows, catch fish with nets and identify other animals in the water.

The students then travel up to the outdoor pavilion where they take a look at the information they gathered and enjoy lunch.

“With multiple docents for one class the kids get very good one on one interaction. If we can get every kid to answer one extra question right on their FCAT test, then the school goes up 15 points. We have done our job,” said Kerr. “We track their progression every year and so far it has been a steady upward progression.”
The students later put their skills to the test by continuing the curriculum in the classroom with their ­teacher.

Students are able to think on their own and come up with their own answers with the gentle help. “Our job is easy,” said long time docent lovingly referred to as Mama T. “At their age the students are already interested in this stuff, especially when they can see it in person. They don’t even realize they are learning valuable ­information.”



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