Guardians of the Gulf
Our Mission
Our STEAM program leverages the power of real-time, multisensory tools to introduce youth to interconnectivity of our natural environment, empower them to realize what’s at stake, and inspire them toward action. Their future, and »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË’s, depend upon it.
We will leverage the power of technology to take youth where they can’t normally go, and combine web-based educational experiences (e.g., gamified learning journeys) with hands-on activities, field trip excursions, and simple but powerful action projects designed to reinforce concepts, stimulate inquiry, and sustain engagement.
Primary Objectives:
- To provide a fun educational experience around coastal resiliency, research, and stewardship for participants, ages 7-13.
- To build a multisensory STEAM program in St. Petersburg, FL about coastal and human resiliency that scales to other user groups and communities around the state of »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË and beyond.
- To introduce youth to the upside of climate and coastal change: the suite of upcoming and future STEAM-related jobs and innovative technologies that will meet the needs of our changing environment that they can pursue.

Our long-term goal is to build a connected community of Guardians of the Gulf across the state of »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË, and beyond. Guardians of the Gulf takes a foundational step as the beginning of a pipeline of programs needed to meaningfully engage with underserved communities about climate change and coastal resiliency. These grand challenges we all face – bigger storms, intense heat, sunny day flooding — are no longer projections. They are here, and they demand diverse perspectives, participatory action-planning, and innovative solutions. Our goal is not perfection; it is engagement, interest, and action.