Karen Mashburn Environmental Scholars Program
Friends of the Everglades is pleased to announce the Karen Mashburn Environmental Scholars Program scholarship and internship. One undergraduate or graduate recipient will be awarded $10,000 and participate in a 12-week Fall 2023 internship at Friends of the Everglades, helping to support the Young Friends of the Everglades program and engage in community outreach. The intern will develop a wide range of skills including communications and instructional skills and gain an understanding of governance and guidelines in the nonprofit arena.
Deadline to Apply: July 15, 2023
History: Karen Mashburn was a long-tenured member of the Friends of the Everglades Board of Directors who was instrumental in establishing and stewarding the Young Friends of the Everglades youth education program. During her lifetime, more than 100,000 students in Miami-Dade County participated in Young Friends of the Everglades and were inspired by the legendary leadership of Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the importance of preserving the only Everglades in the world. In 2023, Karen’s husband, Jerry Mashburn, made a gift to Friends of the Everglades allowing for creation of the Karen Mashburn Environmental Scholars Program in her memory.
Everglades Learning
Friends of the Everglades founder Marjory Stoneman Douglas truly believed that educating young people was critical to saving the Everglades. Now educators can bring the Everglades straight to their classrooms with our new interactive Everglades Learning Exploration Kit, designed to achieve cross-curricular learning standards suitable for 4th and 5th grade classroom use. We are thrilled to be able to offer this as a part of our newly revived Young Friends of the Everglades program. Check it out!
Young Friends of the Everglades
Young Friends of the Everglades is dedicated to teaching young people about environmental advocacy. Our mission is to protect, preserve and restore the only Everglades in the world, not just for us but also for future generations. The “River of Grass” is home to more than 3,000 fragile animals and plants that need our protection. We are the Voice of the Everglades, Marjory’s Echo.
Our Pledge | I pledge to uphold the mission of the Young Friends of the Everglades by advocating for protection of the only Everglades in the world and the animals that depend on its unique ecosystem.
Virtual Orientation
Get a video overview of our Young Friends of the Everglades Learning Exploration Kit! Designed and developed with the help of a professional educator, these beautifully illustrated lesson plans will challenge and delight as students get to know the only Everglades in the world. Listen in to a virtual orientation of the Learning Exploration Kit with our pilot school, Royal Palm Elementary.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas
Marjory Stoneman Douglas — The writer, conservationist, and professional nuisance who saved the Everglades. Watch her story in this first episode of #MadeByHer: Monumental Women, an animated mini-series produced by Hulu.
Exploration Kit
We are proud to offer an online version of this Young Friends of the Everglades education tool free of charge to all interested educators. Please fill out the following form to access the Everglades Learning Exploration Kit.
Please complete the form below to unlock the downloads:
Everglades Learning Exploration Kit
Get Lessons 1-4 all in one downloadable PDF.
Certificate of
Completion
Individual Lesson Plans
Each fun and challenging lesson plan detailed below can be used together or individually and comes complete with teacher notes and instructions to help your students master each area of Everglades education. Reward their progress with an Everglades Champion certificate!
Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Voice of the Everglades
Water & Wildlife
Marjory Saves the Everglades
Changes to Our Home: Water Quality and the Impact on Florida
Young Friends in Your School
Each fun and challenging lesson plan detailed below can be used together or individually and comes complete with teacher notes and instructions to help your students master each area of Everglades education. Reward their progress with an Everglades Champion certificate!
