Outreach program connects youth to coastal ecosystem

On Nov. 16, middle and high school students from New Horizons of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers traveled out to the islands to take part in a No Child Left On Shore field trip.

A joint outreach initiative between the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) and Captiva Cruises, the program provides youth who rarely interact with the local coastal ecosystem the opportunity to experience it up close.

The SCCF reported that 32 students and four New Horizons staff boarded Captiva Cruises’ Playtime with the crew and SCCF environmental educator Richard Finkel for an afternoon of cruising, shoreline exploration and environmental discovery.

No Child Left On Shore fills the need of providing local youth with an informative and fun way to gain experiential knowledge of the ecology of the region’s marine environment. The enriching initiative enables local youth to form a deeper connection to their coastal surroundings and sparks their curiosity.