Project Summary:
The Baldwin County Grasses in Classes (BCGIC) program was started in January 2005 to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of nurseries by Baldwin County school students to grow native plants for submerged, wetland and dune restoration projects. Funding from the Gulf of Mexico Community-based Restoration Partnership will allow us to expand the program by providing training for interested teachers and by establishing nurseries at their high schools.

The BCGIC program provides a volunteer base for implementation of restoration projects and promotes student involvement in community-based restoration activities. With guidance from teachers and experts, the students will maintain and monitor the nursery at their school. Students will also assist local scientists with monitoring the restoration sites during the school year whenever possible.

With funding, the BCGIC program will assist with the following three proposed restoration projects in 2006 by providing plants and student volunteers:

1. Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge has requested the assistance of the BCGIC program to assist in the restoration of dune habitats. Panicum amarum, Spartina patens and Uniola paniculata will be planted by student volunteers on Refuge property.
2. Weeks Bay Reserve staff have requested the assistance of the BCGIC program to remove invasive Phragmites spp. and replant Spartina alterniflora and Juncus romerianus grasses along Weeks Bay.
3. Weeks Bay Reserve Watershed Project has requested the assistance of the BCGIC program to replant Vallisneria americana and other emergent wetland plants in Barner Branch.

Need for Project:
The BCGIC program promotes individual stewardship and understanding of coastal ecosystems by providing students with meaningful hands-on activities designed to teach investigative and problem solving skills.

In recent years coastal habitats in Alabama have been damaged due to storms and/or infestation of invasive exotic plant species. In response to this damage many federal, state, county and city restoration projects have been planned. By raising native plants to maturity and keeping half of the stock for future propagation, the BCGIC program will help defray the costs of restoration projects by providing an inexpensive source of plants as well as a volunteer base to assist with the implementation.

1. promote individual stewardship and understanding of coastal ecosystems through community-based restoration activities
2. facilitate the establishment and maintenance of native plant nurseries by Baldwin County school students
3. provide students with meaningful hands-on activities which will provide investigative and problem solving experience
4. provide federal, state, and local agencies with plants and a volunteer base for implementation of restoration projects

• establish and maintain two nurseries to grow plants needed for restoration projects
• hold a training workshop for teachers to expand the program
• transport plants and student volunteers to and from the restoration sites
• assist with replanting native vegetation at Barner Branch on Fish River and at Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge
• assist with the removal of invasive exotic plants in the salt marshes around Weeks Bay and replant native grasses

• Number of student volunteers - one measure of success will be the ability to effectively engage students at the participating high schools in the process of restoration and monitoring. Teachers are responsible for keeping quarterly timesheets to record the number of students and the number of hours spent working on BCGIC program projects. Approximately 400 students will participate in the program during the 2005-2006 school year.
• Number of plants grown - a second measure of success will be the number of plants grown in the nurseries for restoration projects. Half of the plants will remain in the nurseries after each harvest to ensure a source for further propagation and future restoration projects. The BCGIC program will provide approximately 1,000 plants for each proposed restoration site. In addition to the plants provided by the BCGIC program, the lead restoration agency may provide additional plants for the project thus increasing the acreage restored.
• Impact at the restoration sites - a third measure of success will be the ability to conduct safe and effective restoration projects. Schools involved in the projects will periodically contact and/or assist agency experts to monitor the status of the restoration site in order to determine long-term success.
• Sustainability - a final measure of success will be the ability to draft procedural manuals and to train dedicated teachers willing to participate in the BCGIC Program at their schools. This will be accomplished through a teacher training workshop and the development of lasting relationships with Baldwin County educators, funding organizations and agencies involved in restoration efforts in coastal Alabama.

Monitoring and Long-Term Management:
Methods of evaluation and monitoring of restoration sites will be established by and the responsibility of, the agency staff in charge of the project. Proposed restoration project managers for the grant period are as follows:

• Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge restoration project manager is Biologist, Jeremy Phillips.
• Weeks Bay Reserve restoration project manager is Stewardship Coordinator, Eric Brunden.
• Barner Branch project manager is Watershed Coordinator, Mike Shelton.

Community Involvement:
Working with teachers and students the BCGIC program will provide plants as well as a volunteer base for implementation of restoration projects and will promote student involvement in community-based restoration activities. With guidance from teachers and other experts, the students will maintain and monitor the plant nursery at their school. Students will also assist local scientists with monitoring the restoration sites during the school year whenever possible.

• Jan- April 2006: Establish two native plant nurseries. Students assist with proposed dune restoration project at Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge. Students assist with proposed restoration project at Barner Branch on Fish River. Students assist with proposed removal of invasive exotic plants and replanting of native grasses in marsh at Weeks Bay. Exact dates for the proposed restorations have not yet been set.
• May-Aug 2006: Propagation of plants continues at each nursery. BCGIC mentor teachers revise and/or write procedural manuals and assist with conducting a teacher training workshop.
• Sept - Dec 2006: Propagation of additional plants at each nursery. Students assist with monitoring of restoration sites and assist with new restoration projects.