AN EDUCATION IN SEISMIC TRANSITIONS

Charity for Change Founder Karen Conley, with U2Can and Giver, creates a video series teaching social-emotional learning skills.

An Education in

Seismic Transitions

Traditional, environmental, and specialized education in Collier County make a monumental, all-virtual shift to fulfill their missions

BY KELLY J. FARRELL

At the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, Collier County’s educational and environmental institutions and nonprofits speedily pivoted as schools and brick-and-mortar locations shut down, forcing educators and advocates to dip into their wells of creativity and technological innovation to deliver their critical missions and outreach online. Fueled by a passion for education, these organizations were stalwart in adapting to change. “We cannot lose these connections,” says STARability Foundation Executive Director Karen Govern.

CONNECTING VIRTUALLY

The seismic transition from classroom to distance learning required putting computers and internet access in the hands of all students. This is precisely what Collier County Public Schools did, as well as area educational nonprofits, including Redlands Christian Migrant Association and The Immokalee Foundation, both serving low-income, agricultural families.

The STARability Foundation serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and provides vital socialization opportunities, so quarantining was a particularly disconcerting situation for Govern and her clients. “One of

Top: Online gardening tutorials from the Naples Botanical Garden proved popular.

Bottom: Naples Botanical Garden's exhibit featuring works by local artist Paul Arsenault was one of its first public events after reopening.

the tenets of our mission is to connect our participants to the community, keeping them active and engaged, so they’re not in isolation,” she says. “Suddenly, they were back in isolation.”

Within a week of the government shutdown, online connection resumed and a full schedule of programs evolved. A bevy of new, virtual classes became sustained offerings, such as yoga with Salima Silverman of BKS Yoga Studio and improv with Craig Price of The Naples Players.

Participants gained new technological skills and learned alternative methods of communication. Before the pandemic, physical space limitations created a waiting list, but many who were waiting for services could enjoy online offerings, including occupational training, Govern says.

Another local organization, Champions For Learning, made the best of distance education and boosted its online college- and career-readiness programs and workshops for 375 students. For the first time in 30 years, the Golden Apple Awards dinner at a local resort was canceled but the celebration went on: A special documentarystyle program featuring the academic innovation of 52 Teachers of Distinction and the Golden Apple winners was broadcast on NBC-2.

Staying relevant, the Holocaust Museum and Cohen Education Center sent out a robust and content-rich weekly newsletter and quickly pivoted to the virtual world, bringing the lessons of the Holocaust to the forefront during a time of social strife. Holocaust Museum CEO/President Susan Suarez notes, “Everything going on reinforces how important it is to teach people, especially young people, to not be someone who discriminates, to not be a bully, a perpetrator, or a bystander,” says Suarez. “Just because you’re not the targeted group right now, doesn’t mean someday it cannot be you.”

ACCESSING THE OUTDOORS

Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center closed alongside the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s Dalton Discovery Center, the Naples Zoo, and Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Rookery Bay was able “to do a 180-degree redesign of content and curriculum and go virtual, like many other agencies in town,” says Athan

Barkoukis, executive director of Friends of Rookery Bay.

The 110,000-acre Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve maintained its research but was forced to change its public education components, says Barkoukis. Boat tours remained popular. A happy surprise, he reports, was the popularity of Audubon Florida’s “Breakfast with the Birds” virtual lecture series, which generated a worldwide audience and made clear that Rookery Bay didn’t need to lose communication with seasonal visitors and volunteers.

Naples Botanical Garden brought the gardens to the public through blogs and gardening tips, which proved popular as many took up gardening for the first time during stay-at-home orders. “Priorities remained clear,” says Donna McGinnis, president/CEO of Naples Botanical Garden. “People, then plants, then bringing the garden to the people.”

FUTURE FUNDRAISING

There is no doubt that fundraising has become more challenging because of canceled galas and events and philanthropic dollars being funneled to pandemic relief, though major supporters are sticking closely by organizations they are passionate about.

Rookery Bay had its best fiscal year in its 32year history as of July, despite canceling its annual Bash for the Bay. “We canceled our fundraiser 48

Clockwise from top: Jared Franklin and Morgan Zeleny film a scrub walk as part of a Rookery Bay virtual education program; a visit to an ancient sand dune and Rookery Bay ecocruise; a rendering of STARability's planned community center.

hours beforehand,” Barkoukis explains. “Sponsors, donors, and ticketholders donated funds right back to us. That was a good feeling.”

Naples Botanical Garden canceled its muchanticipated Hats in the Garden seasonal kickoff in November 2020, yet the 43 women who were spearheading the event collectively donated approximately what they anticipated raising, says McGinnis.

Going forward, plans for donor engagement range from increasingly exclusive to more inclusive. Rookery Bay will offer exclusive “A Day in

the Life” videos that follow Rookery staff adventures and research for a day in pristine locations. Naples Botanical Garden plans private picnics and “un-galas” for those who enjoy casual, downto-earth outings and events.

The 2020 STAR Gala raised a record $1.2 million, but Govern doesn’t know what to expect in the coming year. Creating a capital campaign to build a STARability community center is part of the three-year strategic plan but Govern describes the future of fundraising as “the milliondollar question.”