The Focus Academy in Temple Terrace has been fostering a learning environment for developmentally disabled students since 2012.
Now, they have given 18-22 year old students the chance to help Florida’s marine ecosystems.
Focus Academy has partnered with two Tampa-based seagrass restoration companies — Aquatech Eco Consultants and Aquaticus Plants — to provide hands on experience in seagrass restoration.
The students develop and create the plaster weights used in the restoration process.
The weights anchor the seagrass, which help keep the water clean and maintain a healthy ecosystem.
Clayton Clemens is the executive director of Project Focus, the nonprofit behind Focus Academy. He says that a lot of the students in the program typically aren’t given the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities at home.
“With communication being such a big barrier for this population, I’ll go over to them while they’re doing the weights all the time and it’s ear-to-ear smiles and grinning with pride,” Clemens said.
Clemens said the students work in teams, mixing and stirring the plasters while others attach the string used to connect the weights.
The seagrass restoration company currently uses the weights for restoration efforts in Lake Apopka.
He said he hopes to expand the program to include more marine restoration efforts, such as mangrove and oyster shell projects.
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