The Mobile nonprofit Alabama Coastal Foundation is offering fifth grade teachers across the state a chance to win $100 for their classroom through its Coastal Kids Quiz program.
The online program is meant to encourage students to learn about the different coastal resources available in Alabama. It is free to register for both public and private school teachers and provides fifth grade students a chance to learn about their home state and its natural resources while having fun.
The quizzes center around a different resource topic each round. The current topic is oysters. The oyster round will conclude on Wednesday, October 11th, and teachers can still register now.
Teachers with 80% participation will be entered for a chance to win $100 to use for their classroom. The drawings are random, and 15 winners will be announced the following day, after the round closes.
Mark Berte, the executive director of the Alabama Coastal Foundation, said the program is beneficial because it teaches students about the state’s abundant coastal resources and how important they are to the people of Alabama.
“Learning about our sea turtles, learning about our different the weather that impacts us, learning about our oysters, which is not only major natural resource but also a very important part of our economy here in coastal Alabama... learning about how we all relate, is really what the heart of this program is about,” said Berte.
Berte said he is hopeful the program will not only encourage students but also the people around them to respect Alabama’s coastal resources.
“Those students will bring that information back to their parents so that whenever they do vacation down on our coastal beaches, they'll understand what they are, should do and should not do regarding our sea turtles,” Berte said. “So really, it's to get it back into the homes and then those children will hopefully let their children know about the precious resources we have here in coastal Alabama, so that they'll want to protect those for future generations as well.”
Berte said the response to the program has been overwhelmingly positive, and the number of participants is growing each year.
“We know that it's an important program because more and more teachers every year participate. We've had a twofold increase over the program every year since we've put it online,” Berte said.
The next round is about the coastal weather in Alabama. It opens on October 25th closes on November 15th. More information can be found here.
