Looking Back, Leaping Forward: Kicking Off a New School Year of Everglades Education
- The Everglades Foundation
- Aug 13
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 15
August 14, 2025
As hallway bells begin to ring for the first day of the new school year, The Everglades Foundation’s Education team is looking back on a standout year for our Everglades Literacy Program. Hands-on field excursions for teachers, student art competitions, and interactive online learning brought the Everglades to life for thousands of young minds. Take a look back at some of our most impactful 2024-2025 highlights as we gear up for another year of Everglades learning.
Providing Everglades Education Tools and Training for Teachers Across Florida
The Everglades Foundation’s Everglades Literacy Program reached thousands of educators and students in the 2024-2025 school year, with:
61 Everglades Literacy Teacher Training sessions
1,186 new teachers trained
278 schools reached
Our Education team also worked with 65 aspiring educators at Florida Gulf Coast University to prepare them to bring Everglades education to their future K-12 students.
The year marked a major milestone in welcoming the program’s 31st county, extending reach to nearly half of Florida’s 67 counties. This brings the total number of trained teachers to more than 8,000, reaching 280,000 students across the Sunshine State.
From the Classroom to the Everglades: Outdoor Learning for Teachers
How can PreK-12 teachers draw more inspiration, experience, and knowledge about the Everglades to bring to their students? By immersing themselves in this one-of-a-kind ecosystem first-hand!
Just this past school year, our Education team conducted eight outdoor professional development sessions for 85 teachers in places like the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and critical restoration infrastructure sites like Stormwater Treatment Area-1 East. They also brought 100 teachers from our 2025 Everglades Teacher Symposium on an Everglades airboat tour, seagrass wading at Biscayne Nature Center, and a behind-the-scenes tour and birding cruise at Pelican Harbor Seabird Station.
Everglades Champion Schools Program Expands its Reach
Our K-12 Everglades Champion Schools program empowers schools to immerse their students in the Everglades by focusing on curriculum, projects, and practices that become a part of school culture. The 6-12th Grade Champions in Action Program – a standards-aligned, environmental civic action program – encourages students to address issues they discover in their local communities.
This year, our team recognized 107 Everglades Champion Schools from 14 counties, impacting more than 24,000 students and even earning School Board recognitions in seven counties: Manatee, Charlotte, Collier, Osceola, St. Lucie, Palm Beach, and Hillsborough.
2025 Champion School awardees included five schools that earned the Jon L. Mills, Esq. 5-Year Milestone Award and two schools that earned the George Barley 8-Year Milestone Award. Four schools also received specialty awards like Rookie of the Year and Student Ambassador Excellence.
“I'm incredibly proud of what our students accomplished through the Everglades Champions in Action Program… Watching them grow into confident, informed advocates capable of speaking on issues like pollinator protection was truly inspiring. It's a powerful reminder that when young people are given the tools and opportunities, they rise to the challenge and lead with creativity and purpose. I know they feel ever more connected to the Everglades and their community." - A.S., Deerfield Beach Teen Center
Engaging with Students Through Artwork, Technology, and In-Class Everglades Presentations
From Everglades-inspired artwork to an online learning platform, our Education team continues to find unique ways to engage students with different learning styles and interests.
This school year, the team received 750 submissions for our annual K-12 Everglades Challenge Coin design competition, which offers students an opportunity to showcase the unique Everglades ecosystem through art. The 2025 winning submission by Ysabella from St. Brendan High School depicts a White Ibis – Everglades National Park’s most common wading bird.
From the art world to the digital world, this year, two Florida counties adopted Everglades EcoQuest – the first free online learning platform with educational Everglades games – onto student devices. This is in addition to the thousands of students across the country already learning through Everglades EcoQuest.
Families across Florida also joined us virtually for our annual Families ForEverglades speaker series, which reached more than 80 participants. For in-class student engagement, our Education team led over 60 student presentations throughout Florida, reaching 10,000+ K-12 students.
Bring Everglades Literacy Program to Your Classroom
Know a teacher or school administrator who could bring Everglades education to their students? Visit EvergladesLiteracy.org to access free, multi-lingual PreK-12 Everglades teaching resources and learn more about the different ways that Florida schools can get involved with Everglades literacy and Everglades Champion Schools.
All images featured in this blog were taken by The Everglades Foundation.
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