Protecting Long Island Sound Through Education

Initiative Objective

More than 20 years ago, news accounts were filled with stories of pollution in Long Island Sound, and a few local citizens wanted to do something about it. They founded SoundWaters, a non-profit environmental education organization; located a sailing ship; and develop programs that would bring adults and children out on the Sound. The goal was to introduce them to the wonders of the animals and habitats in the marine environment, with the notion that individuals would begin to care about the creatures, want to protect them, and alter life habits to do it. Our education programs are now steeped in scientific concepts and have become integrated into the curriculum of Stamford Public Schools, as well as other nearby districts. This concept of hands-on, experiential learning includes both shipboard and land-based education activities at schools, field sites and our Coastal Education Center, which opened in Stamford 2000. The programs have grown substantially over the past two decades, producing a generation of children and adults whose lives have been touched, and sometimes changed, by their environmental education.