At the national level, within the NERR System, an effort is being made to develop a stronger, more cohesive approach to K-12 formal education programs with some system-wide educational products to foster a national image that will be recognized and utilized by K-12 educators on a broad scale. This project is named the K-12 Estuary Education Program (KEEP). KEEP consists of three main components that NERRs will be implementing - professional teacher development workshops using a new Estuaries 101 curriculum, K-12 field education programs, and web-based resources for educators.

The Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) Education, Outreach and Training Program is moving towards implementation of the KEEP program as part of the systemwide effort. The planning phase of KEEP will involve conducting a needs assessment and a market analysis to aid in meeting site-specific educational needs. After this planning phase ANERR will begin conducting workshops for educators. Some of ANERR's existing field programs will be tailored to meet the goals of KEEP and ANERR will work with local teachers to highlight available web-based resources.

Environmental Education and Training Center

ANERR moved into a new facility in Eastpoint in February 2011. This facility is much larger than the former location and the new site is much more visible and accessible to more of the area's visitors. ANERR is anticipating an increase in the number of visitors and working to redesign its educational strategy to address a higher demand for on-site programming with shorter blocks of time instead of day long field trips.

Learning in Florida's Environment (LIFE)

ANERR has been a partner with the Franklin County School District in LIFE since 2004. The program reaches all of the seventh grade students in Franklin County and involves two separate field days throughout the year. Each field day involves two distinct field labs led by DEP staff and assisted by teachers.

Coastal Training Program

The major goals of the Coastal Training Program (CTP) are to share current science regarding coastal watersheds, estuaries and nearshore waters with decision-makers, and to increase understanding of the environmental, social and economic consequences of human activities and decisions on coastal ecosystems.