WiSE Georgia Gives for Fish Gotta Swim!
A nonprofit fundraiser supporting
Wilderness Southeast (WiSE)WiSE is fundraising for Fish Gotta Swim, a hands-on, eco-education program for underserved youth.
$460
raised by 15 people
$1,000 goal
WIN A WiSE ECO-TRIP VALUED AT $190!
WIN a WiSE Blackwater Paddle Trip for 2 (valued at $190) or a $50 Gift Certificate to Outside Savannah (a local outdoor outfitter store). To qualify, just donate at least $25 to our #GAGives Campaign for Fish Gotta Swim©!
As we near the end of #Native American Heritage Month, we recognize the importance and significance of water. For Native Americans, water is life:
“Water retains an honored and indispensable place, an actual force as well as symbolic image of life and death, creation and destruction, nourishment and deprivation: Water exists as an autonomous and primeval element to be encountered with humility, respect, joy and caution.” — Greeley, J. (2017), Water in Native American Spirituality: Liquid Life—Blood of the Earth and Life of the Community
For all of us, water is life - and the reason why WiSE is revamping Fish Gotta Swim©, our flagship, hands-on, water quality education and investigation program for underserved youth in Savannah.
For 17 years, WiSE has provided upwards of 8,000 student hours annually of water quality education to Savannah-Chatham County Public School students, serving mostly at-risk youth. Thirty-eight (38) of the 55 SCCPSS schools are Title-I Schools with a high percentage of students who live in poverty, and 75% of students served in Fish Gotta Swim© have never been to the beach or coastal wetlands.
Our youth need to know the importance of water in our lives, especially those with limited access to nature. With your help, we’ll reintroduce this tried-and-true (but new and improved) program in the spring of 2023!
--
For over four decades, Wilderness Southeast (WiSE) has been dedicated to the advancement of conservation and environmental awareness and education in the Chatham County area. This dedication has taken a number of forms over the years and is now focused in two program areas: 1) Familiarizing visitors to our area with the unique ecosystems of the Georgia Coast; and 2) working with Chatham County students to build a greater understanding of the natural places that make our home special, developing environmental stewards for generations to come.
Our cornerstone environmental education program, Fish Gotta Swim (FGS), is an in-depth middle school science enrichment program developed by WiSE staff focusing on water quality and its implications for life. For years, FGS has functioned as a dynamic, in-person experience for students who may not have the opportunity to engage with the natural world in their day-to-day lives. FGS provides each student with 21 hours of interactive instruction and educational trips, emphasizing the scientific process and demonstrating the real-world relevance of classroom science and the interconnectedness of living and non-living elements of local wetlands.
WiSE has taught upwards of 8,000 student-hours of water quality education annually to underserved Savannah-Chatham County Public School (SCCPSS) students. Now, we are fundraising to ensure that this critical work continues.
Did you know that, despite their proximity to the Georgia coast, 75% of the students served in FGS have never been to the beach or coastal wetlands before? This statistic is the reason why your gift to WiSE is not only an investment in the health of our ecosystems; it is also a stake in the health and well-being of our children.
Giving Activity
