Katie Doyle

Katie Doyle is in her fourth year of teaching the Oceans Program at Flour Bluff ISD Middle School in Corpus Christi, Texas. She takes weekly trips to the local wetlands where students kayak, collect water quality samples, use seine netting to collect larval fish for counts, and do various other environmental management tasks.

Ms. Doyle teaches hands-on environmental education by taking students to a saltwater wetland, freshwater wetlands, and nature trails weekly, if not more. Students learn the dangers of salinity changes, over-nitrification, over-fishing, and development by monitoring their own wetlands. Ms. Doyle has the students collect water samples that they then bring back to the lab to analyze under a microscope and with water quality tests. She teaches students to understand their local water ecosystems and what is going on in their own backyards. She has even taught the students about local edible plants to add to their tables at home.

Ms. Doyle also continues to challenge herself by participating in ongoing scientific research, including research on great white sharks, humpback whales, and coral reef transects. During the summers she works with the Texas State Aquarium, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and is the new Director for Camp Invention at Flour Bluff ISD. Her goal is to continue to expand the Oceans Program for the elementary school as well.