High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2025

What Kind Of World Do I Want To Live In?

What Kind Of World Do I Want To Live In?

Streaming Media

Course Code

BSC

Course Number

4310

Faculty/Instructor

Dr. Linda Walters

Faculty/Instructor Email

linda.walters@ucf.edu

About the Author

Hello, my name is Gabriel Silva. I am a 4th year Environmental Sciences student currently volunteering with Marine Conservation & Restoration, as well as volunteering for multiple herpetology-focused studies.

Abstract, Summary, or Creative Statement

Marine Conservation and Restoration is one of the most influential courses through community engagement and class discussion on conservation and restoration strategies. I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Walters’ CEE (Coastal & Estuarine Ecology) Lab to plant mangroves and census oysters for restoration projects and to contribute to microplastics research based out of the Indian River Lagoon. Through this course, I gained experience that can be utilized in active research and active restoration through hands-on work both in the field and in the laboratory which will strengthen my academic CV and personal skill development. Engagement with the local community through volunteering events such as International Coastal Cleanup and the Restore Our Shores oyster restoration projects also helped me develop a sense of community across a greater range from Central Florida to Coastal and South Florida. This course also distilled a greater sense of hope for the ongoing biodiversity and ecological crisis that the world faces and allowed me to make a more immediate, material impact on the ecosystems we rely on.

Keywords

Marine;Estuarine;Ecology;Conservation;Restoration;Community;Local;Global;Microplastics;Oysters

What Kind Of World Do I Want To Live In?


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