skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Visit Virtually: Popular Parks, Attractions Adjust to COVID-19

play audio
Play

Monday, July 6, 2020   

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- While the coronavirus pandemic has altered many travel plans, a number of attractions are offering an interactive virtual experience in the era of social distancing.

Some popular theme parks are providing virtual rides. You can even gaze at sea creatures at aquariums online or become an at-home park visitor at national and state parks across the country.

Ellen Leroy-Reed, executive director of the Friends of Guana Tolomato Mantanzas Research Reserve, said they used to get about 300,000 visitors each year to their site near Jacksonville. And she said she's thankful that before the pandemic, they were able to launch a virtual program for students unable to travel.

"When we found out that we were shutting down, we realized this is a wonderful opportunity for us to take the VR program that we typically bring to students with the headsets and put it onto our website and share it through email or setup webinars with students," Leroy-Reed said.

Visitors now can experience the world of estuaries from the comfort of their homes through virtual reality with science lessons that meet state educational standards.

Leroy-Reed said the VR experience is more immersive with pop-ups visitors might otherwise miss when trekking along on the vast more than 76,000-acre reserve.

"You can learn what to look for when you can come out and tour these spaces and learn about research projects that are happening that you would otherwise not have noticed," she said. "Or you can learn about a specific plant or animal that is vital to that particular ecosystem."

Some parts of the reserve sites, which stretch from Ponte Vedera to Palm Coast, still are open for hiking, canoeing and wildlife observation. These federally protected sites are possible because of the Coastal Zone Management Act which Congress passed in 1972 to help states conserve waters and coastal habitats.

The educational programs at GTM are now available online for students up to fifth grade but content will soon expand for students through 12th grade.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Environment

play sound

Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…


A study by the advocacy group Inseparable showed one in five adults said at any given time, they consider their mental health to be either 'fair' or 'poor.' (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…

Social Issues

play sound

With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers …

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021