This month NOAA Planet Stewards is reviewing hands-on action proposals submitted by educators from across the country who have been participating in our Stewardship Community for the last six months. Working in small groups with peer leaders, their proposals focus on decreasing the sources/impacts of marine debris, restoring essential coastal, wetland, estuarine, or riverine habitats, and reducing carbon footprints/increasing carbon sequestration. Funded educators will receive up to $2500 to carry out their projects in their schools and communities over the next academic year. You can read more about projects funded by NOAA Planet Stewards in the 2016 and the 2019 editions of The Earth Scientist. We welcome all educators reading this go to the NOAA Planet Stewards Website, learn more about this great opportunity, and consider applying starting in the fall of 2020.

Celebrate Oceans with this podcast that explores the ocean, home to millions of different forms of life - yet we know surprisingly little about the creatures that live right along our shores, how they interact with each other, or how they're changing as their environment changes. Hear how the U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network aims to change that. Using tools to better understand what these changes tell us about ocean health over time.

The Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) is the coastal and ocean observing system for North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. It is seeking proposals for the development of online K-12 marine science curricula and/or activities that can be implemented by parents, teachers, and other educators. This award value is $8,500. Proposals are due June 18, 2020 at 5 PM ET. Click here for a PDF of the Request for Proposals.

Climate Generation, The Wild Center's Youth Climate Program and NOAA’s Climate Office have joined forces to organize the Stay-In-stitute –  a virtual training on climate change education! Gain the skills, tools, and resources to teach climate change concepts and empower students in all subject areas, and receive ongoing support throughout the year. During the 3-day institute, participants will explore their own neighborhoods and towns to practice data collection and explore local climate solutions. Registration is $150 but scholarships and Continuing Education hours are available. Learn more and register.

This webinar will explore the environmental, economic, and health implications of plastic production, use, and disposal and will discuss: 1) the nexus of climate change and plastic production and why we can’t recycle our way out of the problem, 2) the potential impacts of double production and how the marine debris community can respond, 3) the latest plastic reduction laws, and 4) the new federal bill – the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. Register here....

June 16, 2020 at 3 pm Pacific / 6 pm Eastern from the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Much of the ocean remains unexplored, even areas of your national marine sanctuaries have still not been seen by humans. NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries works with partners to expand its understanding of sanctuaries through deep-water exploration and research. They bring these excursions to you through real-time video feeds and programs. Through this webinar, learn how you and your students can become virtual explorers in national marine sanctuaries and how to further bring the expedition into the classroom through our education resources. Register for the webinar here.

• World Oceans Day Program: Monday, June 8, 2020 at 12 PM ET (register for the Zoom event here)
  
  
• World Sea Turtle Day Program: Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at 12 PM ET (register the Zoom event here)

During these hour-long programs - ideal for 3rd-5th graders, students will:

• Virtually participate in a simulated sea turtle necropsy (animal dissection)
• See how trash in the ocean can impact sea turtles
• Learn how trash can get to the ocean
• AND learn how we can all help stop marine debris!

The Hechinger Report investigated coverage of climate change in school textbooks; explored how the Paradise, California, school district is coping with collective post-traumatic stress after the deadly Camp Fire; wrote about how the science of vaccination is taught (or not) in schools; reported on Mississippi teens who are protecting their town from climate change; explored links between coronavirus and climate change disruptions; covered climate change migration in Louisiana; discussed the lack of climate change instruction in medical school; and more. There's even a tool that allows you to see if a particular school is at risk from flooding. 

"Science tends to be viewed as a completely separate subject area from reading and math. This is the case even in elementary school, where academic content may be more intertwined than in later years. But scientific thinking and processes are valuable across all areas of learning and for career success..." 

Read more, including solid recommendations on what elementary science should look like and solutions for stakeholders in this six-page policy brief from the Southern Regional Education Board.

When you’re done reading the report, check out Elementary GLOBE's series of free high quality integrated inquiry resources designed to introduce K-4 students to the study of Earth system science.

In the new NSTA Daily Do, Why Are More Hurricanes Predicted This Year?, students use an online simulation to figure out the main factors contributing to hurricane formation and analyze data sets to evaluate scientists' claim about predicted hurricane activity in 2020. Share your photos of your family completing this Daily Do with us on Twitter @NSTA#DailyDo, and visit NSTA’s entire collection of Daily Do sensemaking tasks – now grade-banded to help you find what you need faster!

While the Los Angeles Maritime Institute Staff aren’t out on the water with students these days, they’ve created K-12 STEM videos on their LAMI Topsail YouTube Channel for you!Videos cover Navigation with Math; Microplastics and Marine Ecology; and much, much more. Videos for elementary students and shorter videos for parents and the public can be found on the Tallship American Prides Youtube Channel. Entire lesson plans and course materials are available at: www.lamitopsail.org. In addition, students, teachers, and parents can email AskLAMI@Lamitopsail.org to ask more in depth questions and place requests for resources and videos. These resources are the next best thing to being on the water!