provided to Santiva Chronicle
Seine netting, snorkeling and dissecting a squid are activities young adults with developmental disabilities typically don’t get a chance to do. Thanks to a new partnership between the STARability Foundation of Naples and the Sanibel Sea School, up to 36 differently abled individuals are exploring the beaches and waters of Sanibel once a month through January.
In each 3-hour session, members of STARability’s Trailblazer Academy take turns at three stations where they get hands-on, feet-wet, full immersion into exciting learning experiences. In October, they’ll go to Bunche Beach to explore the intertidal zone, see fiddler crabs and mangroves, and dissect a shark.
The Trailblazer Academy is an innovative, community-based day program based on partnerships with more than 25 organizations and businesses. Trailblazers learn vocational skills, fitness and nutrition, do creative arts and explore the environment. By partnering with the Sanibel Sea School, they are furthering the school’s vision of “a world where all people value, understand and care for the ocean” and its mission “to improve the ocean’s future, one person at a time.” STARability’s main focus is to shine light on ability, not disability.
To learn more about STARability, visit www.STARability.org. Find out more about the Sanibel Sea School at www.sanibelseaschool.org.
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