MSEP Programs

art doing its part

About the Program Mississippi and connecting water bodies face significant litter problems, much of which originate from inland areas. Items like bottles, cigarette butts, straws, and fragmented plastics travel through…

Mississippi Sound Photo contest

Welcome to our 2024 Mississippi Sound photo competition! This competition is meant to highlight the beauty and biodiversity of nature within our Mississippi Sound watershed! Whether you’re a professional photographer…

Monitoring activity and presence of the tricolored bat and northern long-eared bat in coastal Mississippi and barrier islands

The goal for this study is to enhance protection and management of habitat used by the tricolored bat and northern long eared bat by obtaining baseline data of presence, activity,…

Coastal Connections

Focused on the local impacts of a changing environment to the watershed, this program aims to bring together the coastal environment and the community through meaningful, hands-on experiences that raise…

MS Barrier Island Cleanup Initiative

Funded in partnership with the U.S. National Park Service, MSCCP will host volunteer-based cleanups on the Gulf Islands National Seashore barrier islands. Volunteers will have opportunities to help us remove…

Native Plant Producer Network

During this project, we will host workshops for producers, students, and community members to attend and learn about our local wetlands. Demonstration sites will be constructed at Coastal Research and…

Living Shorelines

For this program, we work directly with property owners, contractors, nurseries, and regulatory agencies to help increase the knowledge base and streamline the processes associated with implementing living shoreline projects.…

Plastic Free Gulf Coast

The long term vision of Plastic Free Gulf Coast is to support building a green economy that can expand as consumers begin to use and request alternatives to plastic, including…

Derelict Trap Reward Program

Registered Mississippi shrimpers that participate in the program can dispose of derelict traps that they encounter during regular fishing efforts in exchange for a monetary reward. The goal of this…

Derelict Vessel Removal and Assessment

Through this multi-year project the team is removing large marine debris items from coastal and marine habitats in the Gulf of Mexico, specifically derelict and abandoned vessels. Activities include the…

Deer Island Marine Debris Mapping and Removal

The primary objective of the initiative is to regularly map and monitor the distribution of marine debris on Deer Island using drone surveys. Once a month, drone images are analyzed…

Conservation Grazing

The overarching goal of this project is to develop a research plan that will inform the ultimate decision of if, when, where, and how to implement conservation grazing into land…

GRITS

GRITS is an extracurricular program created to provide high school students with hands-on training in STEM skills that are integral to coastal conservation. Each module taught throughout the program will…

MS Inland Cleanup

The Mississippi Inland Cleanup Program (MSICP) is a litter education, awareness, & prevention initiative that aims to serve the community through cleanup events, outreach, and research. This program is sponsored…

Mississippi Coastal Cleanup

The Mississippi Coastal Cleanup Program (MSCCP) is a non-profit educational program that promotes the conservation of the local marine environment by facilitating active stewardship within coastal Mississippi. The MSCCP mission…

SWAPS

SWAPS (Sustainability with Awareness and Prevention Solutions) is a four-module learning series that provides students with a broad understanding of the litter and waste issues facing individuals, schools, and communities…

Plan-it Dunes & Plan-It Marsh

This program aims to provide high schools in the Gulf Coast & southeastern U.S. with the supplies and expertise to restore native dune habitat. Participating schools will be provided with…

MS Student Naturalist

Mississippi Student Naturalist Program aims to provide high school students in Mississippi’s coastal counties with high-quality environmental education and stewardship opportunities. Like Master Naturalists, Student Naturalists undergo a 40-hour basic…

MS Master Naturalist

The Master Naturalist Program provides natural resource training to individuals in exchange for outreach and service educational efforts in natural resources and environmental awareness programs in your community.