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Make like a tree and log in to affordable science classes from Youth Environmental Alliance

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Sweat beads and smiles were in high production Tuesday morning on the beach at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. A handful of volunteers were gathered in the sand and spurs to weed out invasive scaevola sprouts and plant native sea oats.

Young and old, masked and armed with shovels, the team worked for two hours under the sun to restore the dunes. What brought them there? A love for nature and guidance from a local science group.

The Youth Environmental Alliance is a non-profit environmental education organization founded in Davie in 2005. Don’t let the name fool you — YEA isn’t just for kids, though many of its participants are.

Until this spring, the YEA’s 46 classes were taught in person at schools or as science field trips. But because of COVID-19, they’re digitizing.

Outdoor projects that can’t be moved online, like the dune restoration efforts along the coast from Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade County, are still happening, but just in groups of 10 for social distancing.

A volunteer places Native Sea Oats in the dunes in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
A volunteer places Native Sea Oats in the dunes in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

Seven online classes are currently available for $5 each at www.yeafrog.org, and more will be added throughout the summer so students and parents can have fun, engaging science projects to use in this period of education uncertainty.

“We teach the young and young at heart,” said Kristen Hoss, executive director. “Everybody needs a chance to learn.”

But how do you do a science project when you’re avoiding going out as much as possible or don’t feel comfortable dropping by a store?

Easy. YEA’s classes are often DIY — do it yourself. Upcycle materials from your house, yard and neighborhood to learn about anything from wiggly worms and gardening to fish traps and ocean acidification.

Dave Enchautegui, a 12-year-old boy from Coral Springs, took YEA’s most recent DIY fishing gear class. The one-hour virtual class was hosted on a video streaming app called Ring Central. Dave and his mom, Tara Bazinsky, learned to make their own fishing poles out of sticks from their yard, twine from their home, wine corks for floaters and earrings for hooks.

“We’re probably going fishing right after logging off,” Bazinsky said, smiling at her son as he practiced casting his line in the living room and then laughing as he accidentally hooked his clothes. “We have two canals in our neighborhood.”

Though Dave was recently gifted a modern fishing pole by his grandpa, the boy was eager to try his own invention on the local bluegills and peacock bass.

“I really liked learning how to tie the knots,” he said. The blood knot, a cinch-like knot made from a series of twists and loops that’s used to fasten floats, weights and hooks on fishing line, was his favorite.

Dave’s mom, a second-grade teacher who adjusted to online classes with her students earlier this year, said she loves the YEA programs and is signing Dave up for the four-day fishing camp next.

“It’s perfect,” Bazinsky said. “I was looking for just stuff for him to do to keep him busy over the summer. This has been really helpful.”

For Nancy Barcia, a fifth grade teacher at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Boca Raton, YEA’s virtual programs are a bright spot for her students’ pandemic-forced remote learning.

“We always do science field trips,” Barcia said. “Once the pandemic hit, we needed to go online.”

The composition, science and drama teacher said she immediately jumped on board when her principal pitched YEA’s “The Sea and Me — Prevent a CO2 Calamity” class as an alternative.

Barcia worked with Hoss to set up a Google Classrooms presentation where her 40 students and their parents could log in during their normal class hour and participate. Each parent received an email with a list of simple ingredients for the project. And while some originally disliked the video platform, Barcia said, when class time came, everyone was pleased.

“We could’ve gone on for five hours straight; it was great,” the teacher said. “The parents were thrilled. The kids’ reactions were wonderful. We are definitely going to use it again.”

Barcia’s principal, Caroline Roberts, said St. Joan of Arc will recruit YEA again online this upcoming school year not just because in-person presentations are too risky during the pandemic, but because of the program’s high energy, engagement and commitment.

“It’s very important to our youth to get involved at such an early age. This is their world,” Roberts said. “Having YEA speak really makes them feel empowered. It’s a pretty impressive program.”

Cindy Davidson, left, and Emily Wells dig out invasive Hawaiian Scaevola plants from the dunes in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea before planting native sea oats.
Cindy Davidson, left, and Emily Wells dig out invasive Hawaiian Scaevola plants from the dunes in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea before planting native sea oats.

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