What is a LaGoonie?
A person who acknowledges their ecological role and understands that it is through learning and experience that one can envision a better tomorrow.
When our LaGoonies program first began, it consisted of our Waterkeeper, Reinaldo, taking groups of kids out to explore the wild (and not so wild) places around Lake Worth. The goal was to instill a sense of place in these children and encourage them to build relationships of respect, curiosity, and stewardship with our natural world, our waterways, and our wildlife. Our LaGoonies program has grown dramatically since then, but our mission remains the same! We now have two dedicated facilitators and are offering three different LaGoonies sessions a season (spring and fall) along with multiple private groups, adult LaGoonies, and LaGoonie Labs!
Read on for some of the highlights from our most recent sessions and learn what else your LaGoonies team is cooking up for the summer and fall!
Fishing is always one of the highlights of our LaGoonies sessions, and Reinaldo wouldn’t have it any other way! An avid angler and former wildlife guide, much of what inspired Reinaldo to start this chapter of the Waterkeepers was his love of fishing. With that in mind, our fishing days include conversations around how to handle fish properly and respectfully, how to make sure we are not leaving trash or gear around that could end up in our waterways, and the different species of fish that rely on our mangrove ecosystems.
Nature journaling is another core component of the LaGoonies as it encourages us to take time to observe, consider, and record what we are experiencing in nature. You don’t have to be a great artist to enjoy nature journaling. Instead, the value of this activity is in the development of attention and curiosity about the world around us as well as a chance for deeper exploration of animals or topics that our LaGoonies found particularly interesting
We have also been ramping up our local partnerships in order to bring an ever growing range of experiences and topics to our LaGoonies groups!
Our partnership with Gurfer Lady Mary Glazier has gotten our LaGoonies stoked about paddling out and riding the waves! Surfing is a great way to get in the water and learn more about our coastal ecosystems. We also partner with Mary to offer a monthly Gurfer/LaGoonies mash-up where we explore a range of coastal and beach science topics, including weather patterns, ecology, and wave formation before hopping on our boards and getting in the water. Those two hour sessions will start up once the surf conditions are a little more favorable so keep an eye out on our Facebook page!
While exploring and understanding our natural world is an essential part of our LaGoonies program, no ‘sense of place’ is complete without an understanding of history, and boy does Palm Beach County have some interesting history! Our partnership with the Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists has brought history to life for our LaGoonies through their engaging presentations and reenactments surrounding the local history in our area.
Our newest partnership is with the folks at the American Shark Conservancy, a local nonprofit studying the shark populations in our Lagoon. LaGoonies get to learn the real science behind these essential but often misunderstood members of our Lagoon community (lagoonity??) through learning about shark anatomy, their role in the food web, and how and why we tag and study sharks.
There is only so much we can do in 2 hours when we have the whole world to explore! This desire to dive a little deeper into certain topics, as well as wanting to offer something for middle school aged kids, was the inspiration behind our newest offering: LaGoonies Labs.
The LaGoonie Lab sessions are once a week for four weeks- consisting of four-hour days devoted to exploring larger topics more in-depth.
LaGoonies Labs
Ages 11-15 (Middle School)
10am – 2pm
10 person max, per lab
Please pack a lunch for the day.
Art-In-Action (Environment): $120 - March 15, 22, 29 + April 5
Facilitator: Melissa L.
Dates: Tuesdays – March 15, 22, 29, April 5
Cost: $120 (Extra $20 for supplies)
Artivism combines the best of art and activism, emphasizing that we can connect with others through art while voicing our concerns on the topics that matter most. This Lab allows LaGoonies to research and discuss local issues while practicing their craft to come together to create a piece or pieces that speak to our community. This Lab will focus on environmental issues and as a group, will decide the focus of our final project.
Offshore Ecosystems: $100 - April 6, 13, 20, 27
Dates: Wednesdays – April 6, 13, 20, 27
Cost $100
Offshore ecosystems may seem far away but they can still have profound impacts on our coastal lives. The three main offshore or pelagic ecosystems in Palm Beach County are the Sargasso Sea, the Gulf Stream, and the human-created Plastisphere. These ecosystems bring us everything from warm waters and hurricanes to man o’ wars, trash and treasure- even our beloved sea turtles are impacted by these ecosystems! Join our LaGoonies Lab to investigate these fascinating, sometimes mysterious habitats through art and science, study their impacts on our lives and beaches, and explore our role and impact in the natural community.
Art-In-Action (History): $120 - May 17, 24, 31 + June 7
Facilitator: Melissa L.
Dates Tuesdays – May 17, 24, 31, June 7
Cost: $120 (Extra $20 for supplies)
Artivism combines the best of art and activism, emphasizing that we can connect with others through art while voicing our concerns on the topics that matter most. This Lab allows LaGoonies to research and discuss local issues while practicing their craft to come together to create a piece or pieces that speak to our community. This Lab will focus on history, more specifically, lost stories of Florida and as a group, will decide the focus of our final project.
Food Webs (Nature's Balancing Act): $100 - TBD
Facilitator: Autumn K.
Dates: TBD
Cost: $100
A food web is a beautiful representation of the ways in which all life is interconnected. Join us in balancing on energy’s figurative high wire as it makes its way from the sun to the Earth, up to apex predator and back again. Using science, artistic play, and creation, and even circus, we will explore the meaning of ‘alive’, the function of energy, and the path that energy takes through an ecosystem. Every organism plays a role in the ecosystem it lives in, whether it be microscopic phytoplankton that form the base of the ocean food chain and produce 70% of the Earth’s oxygen, or an apex predator like the Florida panther that keeps the populations of deer, rabbits, and raccoons in check. Even humans affect this delicate balancing act as the land we convert for housing, agriculture, and energy removes habitat available to wildlife. In this lab, LaGoonies will learn about how organisms interact with their habitat and other organisms, the balance maintained by these interactions, and how humans affect this balance.
