Officials at Gulf Islands National Seashore have announced “Turtle Runner”, submitted by Ms. Bradley’s class at Brentwood Elementary School and “Pelican Perch”, submitted by Ms. Steven’s class at Cordova Park Elementary School, both in Pensacola, as the winners of the ferry naming contest. All students from the winning classes will be invited as special guests to the ribbon cutting ceremony in 2017, followed by a free ride on the ferry’s inaugural trip for the students and up to 3 family members.
The winning ferry names were chosen from 88 submissions by nearly 900 Santa Rosa and Escambia County fourth graders. A panel of judges from the local community and the national seashore scored the submissions based on their connection to the national seashore’s natural and cultural resources, as well as their creativity and how catchy the name sounded.
In early March 2016, Superintendent Dan Brown challenged 4th grade classes to think of creative names that are relevant to the national seashore’s natural and cultural resources, and encouraged each class to submit two names for the competition. The contest offered students an opportunity to think about their local national parks during the centennial year of the National Park Service. The program is also part of the National Park Service’s Every Kid in a Park initiative (www.everykidinapark.gov), which allows fourth graders to obtain a free pass to all national parks through August 2016.