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L-R: Debbie Ethridge holds a hermit
crab using a conch shell for housing while students Bobby Bemis, 10, Brandon Fort, 12 and Roberto Bustamante, 11, explore the touch tank at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.
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By BETH FEINSTEIN-BARTL
Waterfront News Writer
Each year, dozens of kids sign up to learn about South Florida's unique marine environment.
The program, sponsored by the National Marine Institute in Pompano Beach, offers courses at no charge to any student ages 10 to 18 years old living in Broward and Palm Beach counties. The institute supports the
project through the sale of donated boats.
Debbie Ethridge, a teacher for the National Marine Institute, conducts the Broward-based classes, which are held year-round with at least six participants. A single course spans four to six weeks, she said. "When we have a group of interested students we find a classroom and create a schedule," she said.
Each course has no more than 15 kids, with students close in age grouped together, studying material tailored to meet their levels. Youngsters meet two days a week for lectures that last two to three hours each and feature videos produced by the Discovery Channel. Classes take place mostly at middle schools and community centers. A third day is reserved for field trips that can include airboat rides in the Everglades and outings to the International Fishing Hall of Fame in Dania Beach.
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