Science and art are endeavors of discovery and creativity. Scientists have used art to communicate findings and illustrate concepts; artists have looked to science and nature for inspiration. The disciplines are linked. Creating Art with Inspiration from the Natural World: Broadening the Conservation Audience will show how the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GNDNERR) is using art workshops to encourage artistic expression about reserve subject matter to engage artists (and others) in coastal science, as we link art and science to inspire and teach about the natural world. Our specific goal is broadening our conservation audience through simple four part workshops: 1) explore the reserve, 2) find inspiration, 3) learn a technique, and 4) create art. Our intention with this presentation is to provide information showing how we are using art and nature to increase our science and conservation audience. We engage our community one member at a time, artistically; we have them experience our reserve whether they have previously visited or not, and make something whether they have previously done art or not, and they create something that shows us what they see in addition to having a high-quality experience at the reserve. The participants then donate art pieces to the reserve which are used in further outreach. Each workshop has a theme focused on our animals, plant species, ecological processes, and habitats, and intends to use art education to highlight our restoration and conservation work ultimately broadening our audience for that message.

Environmental projects are often high-profile and receive attention from a variety of audiences. Stakeholders, regulators, and the public are all key to maintaining a successful program, yet all need to understand project complexities from a different perspective. Traditionally, information has been delivered through lengthy technical documents or presentations. These methods can lead to a scattered message and tend to be overwhelming in volume and detail-especially for today's online audiences. Keeping audience attention is a concern, as audiences expect information to be at their fingertips, relevant, timely, personalized, and engaging.
This presentation highlights three interactive solutions-a dashboard, story map, and living document-each designed to improve communication by centralizing information with a cohesive and comprehensive narrative. A dashboard links information and resources from multiple locations, provides key data summaries, and transforms static information into a dynamic format. A story map is an immersive narrative that guides the audience through the history and ongoing activities at a contaminated sediment site. A living document, encompassing planning and restoration of a watershed, replaces traditional documentation and centralizes project information in an interactive website alongside public comment forms and interactive maps. All websites are public, easily modified, and keep information current and relevant.
Easily accessible web technology allows project teams to design and focus a common narrative that is relevant, personalized, and engaging-with more graphics, fewer words, and more understanding.

Due to outmigration of young, educated college graduates, Mississippi is experiencing a net loss of "homegrown" talent commonly referred to as brain drain. Mississippi has experienced the sharpest decrease in college educated Millennials in the United States over the past decade. GenSea is a collaborative effort to introduce Mississippi's high school students and educators to the vast STEM career opportunities along the coastal Mississippi corridor, led by the University of Southern Mississippi's Center for STEM Education and School of Ocean Science and Engineering. 
In June 2022 , a select group of 20 STEM educators from around Mississippi attended a 3-day professional development event hosted by GenSea; they toured technical training sites and interacted with STEM professionals in authentic environments to learn about job opportunities in marine science, ocean engineering, and hydrography. This inquiry is a work-in-progress aiming to examine the impacts of professional development on teachers' awareness and knowledge of career pathways, as well as their plans to incorporate STEM blue economy career opportunities into their lessons.
Following a mixed method approach and guided by Desimone's (2009) conceptual framework, pre-post surveys were taken before and after each day of training in addition to a general pre-post survey pertaining to the event as a whole. Preliminary results of paired student's t-tests and measures of effect size from year 1 of a 2-year study indicate exposure to blue economy careers significantly increased teachers' awareness(n=19, p< .001, SD=.602) and knowledge of career pathways (n=19, p< .001, SD=.905) into STEM. 
 

While coastal Mississippi's natural habitats are easily accessible and provide opportunities for many outdoor activities, there are relatively few nature-based tourism (NBT) businesses in the area. The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources established the Gulf Coast Outpost Program in 2016 to promote NBT-focused businesses owned by people who are knowledgeable about the coast's natural environment. When business owners complete training focused on sustainability and environmental stewardship, they gain access to unique marketing opportunities and promotional materials. However, limited training availability has made it challenging for business owners to complete the certification requirements; thus, few businesses have taken advantage of the course and its incentives. In response, we expanded the program by redesigning the course structure and developing a library of online training modules covering a variety of locally-relevant topics from living shorelines to sea level rise resilience. The modules consist of video lessons and accompanying assessments. They are asynchronous, granting business owners flexibility to complete the training requirements at their convenience. Presently, the online library contains six training modules and will continue to be expanded upon indefinitely. Ultimately, the enhanced Gulf Coast Outpost Program will increase the awareness and abundance of nature-based tourism businesses in coastal Mississippi, and in turn, will promote a more environmentally-conscious public.