Hands & Flippers for Marine Conservation: An Insight Into ASL Programming in Juno Beach, Florida
Streaming Media
Location
Gallaudet University - JSAC Multipurpose Room
Start Date
2-3-2024 11:30 AM
End Date
2-3-2024 12:00 PM
Description
The ASL guided programs offered by Loggerhead Marinelife Center, a 501(c)(3) organization in south Florida, are the first of their kind. These activities began in 2018 and include private tours of the facility, school field trips, night-time turtle walks, and sunrise nest excavations. These types of environmental education experiences offered in ASL are typically limited at environmental organizations. The goal of these programs is to provide Deaf communities an opportunity to learn about how to become better stewards in marine conservation, using sea turtles as an ambassador. Conservation efforts are much more successful when everyone is included, no matter the background or barrier. In addition to the ASL guided programs, the Deaf Internship Program saw its inaugural year in 2021, having recruited two undergraduate students from Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. Since then, Loggerhead Marinelife Center has seen at least one Deaf intern in either the Research or the Conservation departments each year. The Deaf Internship Program is designed to encourage undergraduate students to explore and expand their skill sets in sea turtle biology and conservation in an accessible environment. The ability to offer environmental education and field-based experiences in ASL makes learning about conservation more accessible for an underrepresented and underserved minority group, and offers opportunities for open dialogue on developing and disseminating signs associated with this particular field, a challenge commonly encountered in the world of STEM.
Recommended Citation
Riley, Jen, "Hands & Flippers for Marine Conservation: An Insight Into ASL Programming in Juno Beach, Florida" (2024). Global Year of STEM Sign Language. 8.
https://ida.gallaudet.edu/global_STEM_signlanguage/STEM_signlanguagesummit/day_1/8
STEM SLS 02.03 MPR 06 Jen Riley_SRT_English.srt (32 kB)
Hands & Flippers for Marine Conservation: An Insight Into ASL Programming in Juno Beach, Florida
Gallaudet University - JSAC Multipurpose Room
The ASL guided programs offered by Loggerhead Marinelife Center, a 501(c)(3) organization in south Florida, are the first of their kind. These activities began in 2018 and include private tours of the facility, school field trips, night-time turtle walks, and sunrise nest excavations. These types of environmental education experiences offered in ASL are typically limited at environmental organizations. The goal of these programs is to provide Deaf communities an opportunity to learn about how to become better stewards in marine conservation, using sea turtles as an ambassador. Conservation efforts are much more successful when everyone is included, no matter the background or barrier. In addition to the ASL guided programs, the Deaf Internship Program saw its inaugural year in 2021, having recruited two undergraduate students from Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. Since then, Loggerhead Marinelife Center has seen at least one Deaf intern in either the Research or the Conservation departments each year. The Deaf Internship Program is designed to encourage undergraduate students to explore and expand their skill sets in sea turtle biology and conservation in an accessible environment. The ability to offer environmental education and field-based experiences in ASL makes learning about conservation more accessible for an underrepresented and underserved minority group, and offers opportunities for open dialogue on developing and disseminating signs associated with this particular field, a challenge commonly encountered in the world of STEM.
