Overview

The Marine Education Fellowship is designed for recent college graduates who would like teaching experience in marine science and coastal ecology.

UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant offers year-long education fellowships for recent graduates at the Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Skidaway Island, Georgia. These fellowships, which serve as a bridge experience between college and professional positions, are offered to recent college graduates with a degree in a coastal related discipline (education, environmental science, marine science, or other natural, physical, or social sciences) or a completed degree with relevant coursework. Fellows train and work for 50 weeks to gain experience in environmental education, aquarium husbandry and coastal extension. The education fellowships have three distinct tracks that focus on marine education and outreach, aquarium education and husbandry, and coastal extension. Each track includes teaching, program development and delivery, and additional but varying responsibilities.

Track 1: marine education and outreach fellows will gain experience teaching diverse audiences in a variety of settings, including:

• Teaching Pre-K-12 classes in the lab and in the field. Outdoor classrooms include salt marsh and maritime forest, sandy beaches and trips aboard research vessels.
• Developing, organizing, and leading public programs alongside the public programs coordinator
• Organizing and leading the annual Youth Ocean Conservation Summit.
• Participating as full-time educators for summer camps.
• Assisting in the development of new curricula and updating current teaching materials while assisting with select administrative tasks.
• Assisting with basic aquarium husbandry activities.
• Supporting efforts to expand programs that incorporate JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) practices in education initiatives.

Track 2: Aquarium education and husbandry fellows will focus on the daily operations of the UGA Aquarium, including:

• Maintaining aquarium exhibits and caring for animals housed in saltwater tanks, touch tanks and reptile enclosures. This includes feeding and animal enrichment.
• Maintaining and regulating water quality and other checklist items.
• Leading aquarium programs for the public, school groups and summer camps.
• Updating existing educational materials about the aquarium and displays in the aquarium.
• Delivering a public program focused on the aquarium.
• Assisting with occasional large, public events such as Skidaway Marine Science Day.

Track 3: Coastal extension fellows will focus on community outreach and extension work, including:

• Working closely with research and extension specialists to incorporate information about their efforts into educational programming, including school programs, summer camps and public programs.
• Participating in ongoing research being conducted by the team at Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant.
• Assisting with daily tasks in the shellfish research laboratory.
• Teaching at least one week of summer camp.
• Assisting with ongoing projects conducted by the coastal resilience program.
• Participating in field and boat experiences to gain a stronger understanding of coastal ecology.
• Assisting in the coordination of the annual Youth Ocean Conservation Summit, Research Symposium, Coastal Tourism Conference and other large-scale events.

The fellowship positions are 40 hours per week, typically Monday-Friday with at least one required Saturday per month. The UGA Aquarium does not house marine mammals or conduct marine mammal research. SCUBA, snorkeling, or kayak classes are not offered.