POWERGRAMS

27 "It was a great way for us to engage with the students and help them understand why shoreline restoration and maintaining coastal habitats are so important," said Brown. "It helped them see that if you want to go fishing or you want to eat seafood, you must have healthy marshes. Everything is connected. That way, when they come back in a few years with their parents and friends, the students can tell them how they collected the seedlings, grew the plants and installed the grasses making the new marshes healthier." As part of the next phase of the project, TNC is adding walking trails, benches, an ADA-accessible fishing platform and a pavilion to improve the aesthetics at Lightning Point. The Alabama Power Foundation's Students to Stewards grant supports school initiatives aimed at promoting conservation and teaching students the importance of protecting Alabama's natural resources. "I just want to say thank you so much to the Alabama Power Foundation," Baker said. "We live in an impoverished area here in south Mobile County. This grant gave students the opportunity to go on field trips that they may not have otherwise been able to afford." FUTURE STEWARDS RECOGNIZED The foundation is once again opening new horizons for students. In February, it awarded Students to Stewards grants totaling $14,500 to six schools statewide. The grants can be used to enhance environmental and conservation-related learning, as well as provide outdoor classrooms for students. With the pandemic continuing, the grants may be used to provide alternative learning locations where students can safely social distance while at school. Only schools that have 50% or more students receiving free or reduced-price lunches are eligible for the grant program. The 2021 grant recipients include: Attalla and Stemley Road elementary schools in Alabama Power's Eastern Division; Bryant and Chickasaw high schools in Mobile Division; Jemison Intermediate School in Southern Division; and Lynn Elementary School in Western Division. "Students to Stewards grants provide students with the opportunity to experience firsthand the importance of preserving Alabama's natural resources," said Tequila Smith, president of the Alabama Power Foundation. "This grant represents an investment in our future, and I hope it continues to inspire and inform the next generation of environmental stewards." For more information about the Students to Stewards program, go to https://powerofgood.com/ grant/students-to-stewards- grants/. Students aided The Nature Conservancy by planting native seedlings across from ship docks in Bayou La Batre. Project is helping restore wildlife habitat. Photo by Brian Jordan Photo by Brian Jordan Photo by Pamela Baker

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