Education

The Seaside Institute, a center for learning and discovery, presents several workshops at the Seaside Academic Village January through April, 2016. Locals and visitors are invited to participate in workshops instructed by masters in their respective fields such as writing, art, design and health. Registration is open now at the Seaside Institute with limited space for each workshop as well as accommodation/lodging at the Village.      

The Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County announces that Tom Lynch, one of the nation’s premier watercolorists, will lead a four-day watercolor workshop, February 23 – 26, 2016, at the Bayou Arts Center in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.
 
Lynch has written seven books, hosted an award-winning PBS TV Art Series and was recently listed as one of the  nation’s top 20 teachers by American Artist Magazine. He is currently featured on the new cable TV channel Visual Arts Network (VAN) and on the leading internet art education site ArtAcademyLive.com.
 

To kick off their fifth year, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA) along with 2,300 third and fifth graders established salt marsh nurseries at local schools in Okaloosa and Walton counties. During the course of the 2015-2016 Grasses in Classes Program, CBA will implement 21 programs and establish 63 saltmarsh nurseries.
 

Fall is the best time of the year for us here on the coast. Nature takes center stage and there are plenty of ways to get outside and have fun. Education is a big part of what we do here at SoWal.com and we love our lakes. Here's what our friends Elam and his son Nic are up to at Live Oak Productions.

A giant red sun peeks over the oat-covered dunes, casting long shadows and illuminating a distinctive track in the sand, unbroken from dune toe to surf. The track was made in the midnight hour by a massive sea turtle on a mission.

Expectant mamas like her have been visiting SoWal beaches since prehistoric times, returning each year to the same spot where they hatched. Repeating the cycle by building a nest and burying dozens of eggs in the warm, incubating sands.

The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA) of Northwest Florida State College announces the summer session of its award winning eco-tourism initiative, Discover Roads Less Traveled: Eco-Adventures of Walton County. Voted Best Outdoor Adventure in the 2015 Perfect in South Walton- Best of the Best list, the summer tour line-up falls nothing short. Don’t miss the chance to get outdoors this summer and explore!

The Gulf World Marine Institute stranding team recently released a fully rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtle into the Gulf of Mexico in Panama City Beach. The stranded sea turtle was rescued in March of this year and was found to be emaciated and lethargic. After a few months of rehabilitation at Gulf World Marine Institute the sea turtle was medically cleared and then released back into the Gulf on June 24, 2015, along with a few human friends standing by for support.

Gulf Place is the perfect place for artists of all ages! The Artists at Gulf Place and 30A Learning Academy will host art classes, interactive workshops and adventure camps to keep kids engaged and active this summer from June 1 throughout the summer.
 

The Friends of Camp Helen State Park and Lake Powell Community Alliance will show a film about coastal dune lakes at 6:30 p.m. on June 19, 2015, at the Park’s Lodge.  The film “Coastal Dune Lakes: Jewels of Florida’s Emerald Coast” by Elam Stoltzfus and the Live Oak Production

Group focuses on the dune lakes of Northwest Florida, a project for which Stoltzfus spent the last year and a half.  The event is free and open to the public.  State Park entrance fees are waived.  Elam Stoltzfus will be present to discuss the film.

Feeding and petting a fever of stingrays, swimming with dolphins and getting smooched by a sea lion is all in a day’s work at Gulf World Marine Park. Panama City Beach’s longstanding educational facility pulls double duty as the Area Coordinator for the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. And when Gulf World’s team of experts isn’t out rescuing dolphins and sea turtles, they’re educating kids and kids-at-heart about the fascinating animals with which we share our planet.