LIFE - Ichetucknee Springs State Park

The LIFE Ichetucknee Springs State Park Program is a partnership between the Department of Environmental Protection's Ichetucknee Springs State Park and the Columbia County School District. The program focuses on approximately 200 seventh grade students at Fort White Middle School. This program has a special focus on Karst topography and water quality. The Program will also be one of the first to make use of the “Water’s Journey Springs Curriculum” developed by the North East Florida Educational Consortium.

Supplemental Financial support for the project comes from grants from The Oceans Initiative, The Florida Springs Initiative. Transportation support comes from the Three Rivers Trust.

View 2006-2007 Program Scope and Sequence [DOC - 53.5 KB]

Site News

• Fort White High School Receives Florida Springs Champion Award for Science Program - 01/25/06
• Environmental Education Program Breaks Ground in Columbia County - 09/02/05

Field Sites

• Ichetucknee Springs State Park Field Sites via Google Earth - Link to an interactive map showing all field sites for Ichetucknee Springs State Park.
• Google Earth Instructions - Provides information on how to use the Google Earth feature above.
• Ichetucknee Spring State Park

Program Implementation Team

• Sherry McGowan
  Park Manager, Ichetucknee Springs State Park
• Patty Martin
  Assistant Park Manager, Ichetucknee Springs State Park
• Sam Cole
  Park Services Specialist, Ichetucknee Springs State Park: (386) 462-7905
• Rick Babston
  Lead Science Teacher, Fort White High School: (386) 497-5952
• Janet Sweat
  Science Teacher, Fort White High School: (386) 497-5952
• Nekesha Jackson
  Science Teacher, Fort White High School: (386) 497-5952

Program Content

Additional Resources

General Environmental Science Information:

• USGS’s Water Science for Schools
• NASA’s Visit to an Ocean Planet
• NOAA’s Tides and Water Levels
• NOAA’s Online Research Resources for Middle Schools
• EPA’s Kids, Students and Teachers
• Natural Resource and Environmental Education Web Sites at UF
• Florida Sunshine State Standards (Science; Grades 6-8)
• FloridaSprings.org
• Explore Florida
• Globe Protocols
• Unit Conversion Web Site