The Watch, December 2019


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“We all get the same exact 365 days each new year.

The only difference is what we do with them.”

Hillary DePiano

Planet Stewards wishes you the joy of family, the gift of friends, 

and the best of everything this holiday season and new year!



Planet Stewards Education Program Connection Links

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Planet Stewards

 

Planet Stewards Bookclub

Great Lakes book

Tuesday, January 21st, 8pm Eastern Time

Dial Toll Free 1-866-662-7513 followed by passcode 1170791#

Join the next Planet Stewards book club as they discuss the acclaimed book by Dan Egan, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. A NOAA PSEP Peer Leader  will lead the discussion of the book on 1/21, Monday, at 8pm ET. Discussion questions will be listed on the NOAA PSEP website shortly along with a brief introduction of the book. Join the discussion!

February and March Book Club books are listed below:


From the Planet Steward Education Program’s Webinar Archive: 

Engaging Students Toward Stewardship the MWEE Way

MWEE kids

This webinar and the corresponding MWEE guide to watershed education  from the Planet Stewards archive introduces you to three dimensional learner-centered experiences that focus on investigations into local environmental issues, leading to informed action and civic engagement. Open this webinar and/or the entire treasure trove of Planet Stewards webinars .


noaa countdown

 

FIVE: NOAA’s Environmental Leadership Seminar Series Webinars

Tim Gallaudet

On January 14th, 2pm ET, don’t miss the webinar, “My Personal Leadership, Philosophy and Principles: All In, All Good, and All for One,” by Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, PhD, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere/ Deputy NOAA Administrator. The Leadership Seminar Series will highlight those who lead NOAA and ensure its excellence. These leaders and NOAA partners speak on topics relevant to NOAA’s mission.  See the upcoming series and OneNOAA Science Seminar calendar here.


FOUR: Mission Iconic Reefs

NOAA and partners announced a decades-long coral reef restoration effort, Mission: Iconic Reefs, to restore seven iconic reefs in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.  The groundbreaking approach aims to revitalize the Florida Keys’ highly diverse and economically valuable marine ecosystem on an unprecedented scale, and represents one of the largest ever investments in coral restoration.

reefs

THREE:  Managing National Marine Sanctuaries in a Changing Ocean Webinar Series, January 14, 2020, 6 pm Eastern

sanctuaries

This webinar series provides formal and informal educators with educational and scientific expertise, resources, and training to support ocean and climate literacy in the classroom. As a system of nationally significant places managed by NOAA, national marine sanctuaries are directly experiencing climate impacts, and serve as important assets for climate-informed management, science and education. Join Dr. Zachary J. Cannizzo to learn more about how the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is actively incorporating climate into education and outreach. Visit the NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries archives to watch past webinar recordings. 


TWO: NOAA Ocean Podcast: NOAA’s Emergency Response Aerial Imagery

Since the early 1900’s the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has been taking photographs from airplanes to capture the Earth below.  Dive in and meet two of the people behind the Emergency Response Imagery Viewer and learn what it is like to be in their shoes, in this new podcast from NOAA Ocean: After a hurricane hits: NOAA’s Emergency Response Aerial Imagery

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ONE: NOAA Arctic Report Card 2019

arctic

The 12 essays featured in Arctic Report Card 2019 provide comprehensive summaries of key land, ice, ocean, and atmosphere observations made throughout the Arctic in the context of historical records. Taken together, the essays also serve to highlight the many strong and complex connections within the Arctic system. It is these connections that magnify the impact of the changing Arctic environment—changes that affect ecosystems and communities on a regional and global scale. Access the 2019 Arctic Report Card here.

Educator Opportunities

 

Apply for American Meteorological Society's Summer Learning

AMS

The American Meteorological Society’s (AMS) Education Program invites K-12 teachers to enroll in weather, ocean, and climate science professional development courses. With major support from NOAA, DataStreme Project distance learning courses are available to teachers nationwide. DataStreme Atmosphere focuses on the study of key meteorological concepts and dynamic weather events in near real time; DataStreme Ocean addresses the ocean’s physical, chemical, biological, and geological properties and their effects on coastlines, ecosystems, and climate; and DataStreme Earth’s Climate System explores the scientific principles governing the climate system and the ways humans interact in it. Each course is 13-weeks long with Mentor Teams located around the country. Graduate credits are also awarded. Apply today for Spring semester 2020 – Deadline is January 9th, 2020. Learn more here.


Apply for the BioInteractive Ambassador Academy

Biointeractive Academy

HHMI BioInteractive is inviting biology and environmental educators at the high school or undergraduate level to participate in a three-year professional development Academy to promote and support evidence-based teaching practices that incorporate our classroom resources, approach, and values.

  • Up to three years of professional learning and development.
  • Full travel and registration support to participate in at least one regional or national science education and/or scientific conference annually during the three-year Academy.
  • Participation in a national professional network of expert life science educators.
  • Stipend, full travel and registration, and coaching support to present at least once at a national and/or regional meeting.

Visit BioInteractive here for more information and eligibility requirements. Intent to apply is due Jan. 6, 2020 with applications due March 23, 2020.


Science Communication Fellowship Program Open Now!

communications graphic

The Science Communication Fellowship immerses formal and informal educators in the Nautilus Corps of Exploration and empowers them to bring ocean exploration to a global audience via the Nautilus Live website and live sessions from aboard the ship.Science Communication Fellows then bring their expedition experience back to their classrooms, organizations, and communities centered around their time at sea. Applications are open now! Learn more and apply before January 10, 2020.


Edward C. Roy, Jr. Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching

geoscientist pin

With a little more than a month left to apply, now is the time to go online and view a new webcast about the prestigious Edward C. Roy, Jr. Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching. The free, two-minute webcast provides an overview of the competition. You can view the webcast today.The winner will receive a $2,500 prize and a travel grant of $1,000 to attend the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) Annual Conference in April 2020 to accept the award. To learn more, teachers should visit online. Applications must be postmarked by January 22, 2020. 

Class opportunities
Exploravision

Since its inception in 1992, nearly 400,000 students from across the United States and Canada have participated in the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision that can inspire a lifelong love of science, technology and innovation.  A teacher will guide his or her students as they pick a current technology, research it, envision what it might look like in 20 years, and describe the development steps, pros & cons, and obstacles. To download an ExploraVision brochure, please click here or visit the program’s website.


National Geographic GeoChallenge and GeoBee

GeoChallenge

The National Geographic GeoBee is an annual competition designed to inspire and reward students' curiosity about the world, while the National Geographic GeoChallenge is a project-based, multilevel competition that empowers students in grades four through eight to develop creative solutions to today’s urgent environmental problems.  School Registration for the 2019-2020 school year is now open for both competitions! The GeoChallenge deadline is January 16 and the GeoBee deadline is January 24.


Announcing 2020 Presidential Environmental Youth Awards and Presidential Innovation Awards for Environmental Educators – Applications due January 15, 2020

peya EPA award

Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced that EPA’s Office of Environmental Education is now accepting applications for the 2020 Presidential Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA) and Presidential Innovation Awards for Environmental Educators (PIAEE). Winners will be invited to Washington, D.C. in mid-2020 to be honored by the agency and present their work in a poster session. Both awards were established in 1990 and recognize outstanding environmental stewardship projects for students in grades K-12 who promote environmental awareness and encourage community involvement, and educators who employ innovative approaches to environmental education. One student in grades K-5 and another from grades 6-12 will receive the award, and two educators will be selected.  

For more information on the youth awards (PEYA), please contact: PEYA@epa.gov  For more information on the teacher (PIAEE) award, please contact: PIAEE@epa.gov.

students educational opportunities

 

Student Interns sought for the Nautilus Explorer

boat in water

Applications to sail as a paid intern on the Nautilus in 2020 are open now for students! Students can learn more and apply before January 24, 2020 for the Science & Engineering Internship Program. Internships information can be found here. All internships include a paid stipend for participation. Applicants should be enrolled in or recently graduated from a community college, undergraduate or graduate program in ocean science, technology, or related fields.


Youth Ocean Conservation Design Challenge

youth ocean conservation logo

From December 2 to January 31, students in grades 6-12 can compete in the Youth Ocean Conservation T-shirt design contest offered through the Virginia Aquarium to win one free admission to the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit in Savannah, Georgia to be held on February 15, 2020 and a t-shirt of their design (of course!). Learn more here.

conferences

 

Nat'l Marine Educators Association (NMEA) Conference & Publication

hawaii

Do you want to attend the #NMEA20 annual conference in Honolulu in July 2020 and could you use some financial assistance to attend? There are currently three different types of scholarships available: 

  1. NMEA  member-only scholarships, 
  2. Expanding Audiences scholarships, and 
  3. Traditional Knowledge scholarships. See our Scholarships page for more information.

 All scholarship nominations and applications are due by February 15, 2020, and applicants are usually notified by mid-March, so that everyone can register by the NMEA annual conference early-bird registration deadline!

NMEA is also pleased to announce Current: The Journal of Marine Education, which is to be relaunched in to its new online, open access format with Ubiquity Press! NMEA’s first online and open access issue (Winter 2020) will be released in the new year. Subscribe here


Environmental Dates for 2020 

Earth Day, World Turtle Day, America Recycles Day…. You’ll uncover environmental dates that you never knew existed by exploring the global environmental events collected here, and it’s just in time for inclusion on your 2019 calendar!  

Environmental Event

Especially at Year End: A Physics Student Filmed Her Committed Teacher All Semester. He's Now Gone Super Viral

ice cream class making

David Wright is a firm advocate for demonstrating the wonders of science through action. He makes ice cream for his class using liquid nitrogen, lets deflating balloons fly around the room, and makes flames appear. One appreciative student filmed the professor's stunts all semester long, and she uploaded a video compilation to Twitter, expecting a few hundred likes and a couple of thousand views. She was wrong: Her video went massively viral and was seen more than 10 million times in 24 hours. Read more from BuzzFeed.

educational resources

 

Winter High Tide Bulletin

tides

There are some factors that cause the tides to be higher than what is "normally" seen from day to day. View NOAA’s bulletin to have learners explore where certain coastal locations may experience higher than normal high tides for the period of time between December 2019 and February 2020.


CLEAN Portal Resource Feature: Stabilization Wedges

wedges

This activity for secondary educators incorporates a team-based collaboration on greenhouse gases and current technologies that can provide a solution to our climate change woes. Students fill in eight climate stabilization wedges to learn more about the current strategies available for climate mitigation. The students will have the opportunity to pick the eight different climate-cutting strategies to complete the climate mitigation portfolio. Browse the CLEAN portal for more resources related to climate mitigation. 

Audience: Ideal for High School and up

Time requirements: Approximately three 45-minute blocks


In Honor of CS Education Week

CSE Week Guidebook

Planet Stewards acknowledges  #CSEdWeek, which took place December 9-15, 2019 to coincide with the birthday of Admiral Grace Hopper, a pioneer in the field of computer science who was born on December 9, 1906. This annual event was first recognized in 2010 when the 111th Congress passed House Resolution 1560. Computer science has allowed significant advances in our knowledge of planet Earth, as well as wide-spread democratization of this knowledge and the digital tools that make these advances and their global dissemination possible. Find various educational environmentally focused resources at the CS Education Week website.


Arctic and Antarctic Classroom Resources

arctic game

The Bridge is featuring resources about Earth's southernmost continent this December. First up, is Classroom Antarctica, a series of lesson materials from the Australian Antarctic Division. To complement those lessons,they also recommend the National Science Foundation's Arctic and Antarctic Classroom Resources. Classroom Antarctica is aimed at grades 3 to 8 and designed to stimulate student interest in real-world applications for science, mathematics and studies of society and environment, while the National Science Foundation website offers a diverse collection of lessons, videos, and web resources on polar research programs.


Pacific Marine Mammal Center's Distance Learning

Pacific Marine Mammal Center

Check out all of California’s Pacific Marine Mammal Center’s (PMMC) distance learning offerings aligned with many NGSS and Ocean Literacy Principles. Students can learn about PMMC’s rescue and rehabilitation efforts or learn about other conservation efforts though its distant learning programs available to classrooms at a minimal cost.

Find out about all of its programs at the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC)  here.

Dates and Takes

GOOD NEWS TO KNOW 

Takes...

 


and Dates...


And Job & Grant Opportunities...

  • Now Accepting Student Applications for Internships with the National Park Service through January 24, 2020.
  • Associate Director, Communications/PR, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA
  • Creative & Editorial Director, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA
  • Shedd Aquarium in Illinois has a Director position open in Fishes-Animal Care. Learn more here.
  • Reef Relief is currently looking to fill 2020 Spring and Summer internships. The internships go from January-May  and late May- Mid August, based out of Key West, Florida. See website for details
  • Paid internships for community college, undergrad, graduate students, and recent graduates are available in ocean science, seafloor mapping, ROV engineering, and video engineering with NOAA. Apply now by January 2020.
  • Science Communication Fellowship - Apply by January 2020. Want to bring ocean exploration to your community? Our Science Communication Fellowship is open to classroom educators, informal educators, writers, and artists to join our expedition team. Apply now
  • Funding is open for NOAA Marine Fisheries/Sea Grant Joint Fellowship Program in Population and Ecosystem Dynamics and Marine Resource Economics for PhD students. See the announcement & learn more. Amount up to $120,000. Deadline: January 30, 2019. More on the Fellowship can be found here.
  • California State University Monterey Bay is now accepting applications for their 2020 summer REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program. Students will be provided with a $5,000 stipend in addition to support for travel, room and board. REU students will also receive post REU support to attend conferences. The application portal will close on February 01, 2020 at 11:59 PM PST. The 10 week summer program will run from June 7th to August 15th, 2020. Additional program details can be found on the program homepage.
  • NOAA is excited to be working with the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) to offer NOAA-21st Century Community Learning Centers Watershed STEM Education Partnership Grants. These grants will enable experienced environmental education providers to work with 21st CCLC sites to deliver authentic STEM experiences emphasizing the unique assets and expertise of NOAA. Applications are due 2/6/20. See the NAAEE website (https://naaee.org/our-work/programs/eeblue/21CCLC) for the full Request for Proposals and application.

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