Students from Cedar Key School stepped into marine scientists’ shoes at the University of Florida’s inaugural Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium on March 31, 2025.
Spearheaded by the College of Education in partnership with the UF Marine Animal Rescue Program and Cedar Key Dolphin Project, the symposium was part of the Guardians of the Gulf science curriculum currently implemented in two Levy County schools. The program, funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program, taught students how to analyze and interpret marine science data to develop their own research projects.
Over the course of the school year, the eighth and ninth grade students explored stranding data collection methods, learned to analyze and interpret marine science data and developed original research projects based on their findings.
“They were able to explore the research with actual stranding data,” said Suzanna Mickey, co-chair of the symposium and stranding and rescue Biologist at UF Marine Animal Rescue. “They blew me away with how amazing their work was, given that they’ve never messed with a large data set. They turned their findings into a legitimate scientific poster.”
The symposium offered students the opportunity to present their work in a professional setting, engaging with industry professionals. Attendees included College of Education and UF Marine Science Rescue faculty, professionals in state and federal levels of wildlife management, Save the Manatee Club, Sea Grant, commercial fishermen, the Guy Harvey Foundation, law enforcement and many other researchers in the field.
The students presented their findings to judges as well as the attendees of the symposium. Judges provided feedback on each student’s work and selected top projects to be honored during the closing awards presentation.
“Watching the students shine during their poster sessions was definitely a really cool experience,” Mickey said. “The data exploration and critical thinking was great. Some of them seemed reluctant in a classroom, but then they were entirely different people when it came to presenting, and that was really, really fun to see.”
Middle school students conducting experiments at the Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium
In addition to the poster session, students and attendees participated in discussions with industry professionals as well as a career show and tell, which consisted of students exploring professional career opportunities in marine biology, research and conservation. The young marine scientists also had the opportunity to visit and speak with researchers in microbiology labs at UF.
“Students loved the career show and tell, as it exposed them to local conservation-related careers,” said Julie Brown, Ph.D., co-chair of the symposium and associate professor at the UF College of Education. “Students repeatedly reported how much they learned about marine science and marine science-related careers.”
The symposium marked the first of its kind, kickstarting an annual tradition.
“I think this experience showed [students] how to come prepared for a professional meeting or some sort of conference. They really took ownership of their work, which was amazing. ” Mickey said. “I’m excited to see how it evolves into the second iteration.”
The 2025 Guardians of the Gulf Youth Symposium created a place of community by building a professional environment for students’ marine science research to shine.
“My personal favorite memory was watching the students present their research and engage with the marine science community in authentic and meaningful ways,” Brown said. “They were truly becoming a part of the marine science community of practice through their words and actions. It was beautiful.
