Get a head start on your summer reading! NOAA Planet Stewards has just announced our full Book Club reading list for the 2021-2022 academic year. Brush up on your knowledge of climate change and what we can do to mitigate its impacts, learn more about our relationship with food and what we can do to  treat both our bodies and our planet better, and find some inspirational books to engage your students in the coming year! Check out the books to begin  next September here.

Join NOAA all June

for National Ocean Month

and NOAA's 30 Days of the Ocean. 

Check out a new theme every week!

Listen Now! The NOAA Ocean Podcast:   Connecting the Dots with Modeling (Part One)

What do harmful algal blooms, dust from the Saharan desert, and hurricanes have in common? They're all pieces of the puzzle that modeling puts together to give us the big picture when it comes to studying and understanding our ocean and coasts. In part one of this two-part episode, we take a deep dive into why modeling is important, what kind of data is provided, and how collaboration with stakeholders strengthens our knowledge base. Listen to the podcast.

Listen Now! Traveling Turtles: Rescue and Rehabilitation of Cold Stunned Sea Turtles Story Map

Cold stunning is a natural phenomenon on Cape Cod. However, the number of turtles that strand each year has been steadily increasing in recent decades. This story map tells the story of sea turtles that cold-stun on Cape Cod, their journey through rehabilitation, their release back into the wild, and the partners who help them.

On Tuesday, June 8, 4pm ET:  NOAA Ocean Today presents: 

How to Help Whales, A World Ocean Day Watch Party

Join Ocean Today host Symone Barkley on an incredible journey into the ocean, up in the air, on the shore as she watches whales migrate along our coasts. Learn how NOAA is tracking whales and what you can do to help using citizen science! Using the Whale Alert and Ocean Alert apps, you can help ships steer clear of migrating whales and report entangled whales. For more information and to register: https://www.facebook.com/events/ 2963236203951124/

2 June 2021, 3 - 4 pm ET: 

10 years of ocean acidification science: Reflections & opportunities

In 2009, the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act called for a program within NOAA to monitor, research and understand the impacts of ocean acidification to better prepare society. This presentation, will reflect on the important questions and information we had ten years ago, what we've learned, and where we're going with our NOAA partners. Register & join us!

3 June 2021, 1 – 2 pm ET:

Collaborations across NOAA: An overview of the Weather Prediction Center and the National Water Center

Have you ever wondered how NOAA offices work together during extreme events? Tune in and learn about how the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) and the National Water Center (NWC) collaborate with the National Hurricane Center on issuing rainfall forecasts and messaging during hurricane events. Register here.

Teachers and professionals will discuss how the scientifically complex topic of climate change can be taught in classrooms and how these lessons can be reinforced by community action and parental support. Join us for this special webinar brought to us by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Additional details about the webinar will be posted on the Office of Environmental Education's website as they become available. Register here today.

Attention K-12 teachers:

Promote watershed and ocean stewardship
in your school or local community by becoming a
NOAA Ocean Guardian School

Eligibility:

PARTICIPATION WITHOUT FUNDING: Any school (PreK-12) in the United States may apply to participate in the Ocean Guardian School program without funding.

PARTICIPATION WITH FUNDING: Grant amounts range from $1,000 - $4,000 per school depending on the program region and funding year. Any school (PreK-12) from the following locations may apply for an Ocean Guardian School grant:

• CALIFORNIA counties: Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura
• WASHINGTON counties: Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor and Pacific
• OREGON counties: Clatsop, Tillamook, Lincoln, Lane, Douglas, Coos and Curry
• TEXAS counties: Galveston and Harris
• FLORIDA county: Monroe
• HAWAII

For application information, go to the Ocean Guardian School website.

Applications are now being accepted!

The UCAR Center for Science Education is recruiting high school science teachers to field test and provide feedback about the NGSS-aligned Clouds, Weather, and Climate Teaching Box - a new, week-long curriculum designed to build student understanding of the relationships between weather fronts, clouds, and climate.

If you are a high school science teacher who will be instructing at least one section of a class that includes weather and climate topics during the 2021 fall semester and would like to participate, please complete and submit a Google Form application by June 11, 2021.  Each field test teacher will receive  a $200 stipend. Learn more about this opportunity and sign up here.

Attention California teachers!  A free virtual institute  is being offered live June 21-25, 2021 from 9am–12pm online with afternoon time offered asynchronously. This institute will examine sustainable communities with a social, economic, and spatial justice, and ecological lens. 

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), will celebrate the High-Level Launch of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development on 1 June 2021 from 5 am to 9 am (ET) in Berlin.

Join us for the virtual launch of the Ocean Decade and to contribute to “Creating the Ocean we want”. For more information go to ocean decade-conference.

Want to take a deeper dive into innovative instructional strategies? Try an online course with a cohort of peers. Empower your learners to make sense of our interconnected world by integrating geographic thinking skills and resources into your instruction in a National Geographic short course! Peruse our courses here and sign up today! New courses begin June 23rd!

Every June, National Geographic Explorers from around the world gather at their headquarters; this yearn they will be gathering virtually. National Geographic is extending a special invitation to attend the 2021 Explorers Festival to join scientists, conservationists, fellow educators, storytellers, and supporters to participate in the conversation about innovative planetary stewardship. From June 15-17, listen to dynamic symposium talks, watch film screenings, and enjoy an evening of music, networking, and celebration. Registration closes Friday, May 28. 

The AMS Education Program invites K-12 teachers to enroll in content-rich professional development courses in weather, ocean, and climate science.  With major support from NOAA, the DataStreme Project distance learning courses are available to teachers nationwide:  DataStreme Atmosphere, DataStreme Ocean,and DataStreme Earth's Climate System. The enrollment period for Fall 2021 will open in mid/late Summer 2021. To learn more, go to: www.ametsoc.org/DataStreme.

And there's more! Upon successful completion of any two of the five courses offered through the AMS/Cal U partnership or with the Datastreme courses, teachers are eligible to apply to become a Certified AMS Teacher (CAT). This certification is an ideal way to connect to distinguish yourself as a recognized Earth Science education leader. Information needed to learn more about this exciting new microcredential is available HERE.

Take a tour of the ribbons of rivers that crisscross the U.S. and deliver drinking water to over 117 million people every day. Learn how the physical, chemical, and biological systems within watersheds collaborate to create a continuum of resilient interconnected ecosystems. Find out how watersheds spiral nutrients in and out of the river basin, feeding a vast food web in the process. Learn more about this video, including educational resources, from the KQED website; http://ow.ly/vYnqN.  The video can also be found on YouTube here.

Share stories of how climate change is impacting communities now, and solutions that people are creating to become climate resilient.

Connect students to extreme weather through math, language arts, and science with real climate data and real stories. 

Investigate the science of extreme weather  and reflect on how you rely on the seasons, weather, and climate and learn about how people and cultures are impacted by the changing climate patterns.

Join us at MACCEC to learn how educators from across the region are teaching about climate solutions, science, justice and workforce. Over four afternoons (June 28 - July 1), classroom teachers, non-formal educators, and researchers will share best practices, lesson plans, and tools for engaging K-12 students and community members in climate change education and action.

Middle and high school students are invited to register for free and spend the afternoon of June 28th learning from fellow students on climate change solutions. At the end of the afternoon, all conference attendees are invited to attend a student panel where the next generation will share why they are taking action and demanding climate change education.  Student Track Registration for middle and high school students is FREE.

Registration page is here. Register by Friday, June 11 to receive a free conference Warming Stripes sticker.

Oregon's Environmental Education Conference offers an exciting opportunity to connect with others in the environmental and outdoor education field this July. In-person and virtual sessions will be offered. The theme of the conference is Rise to Resilience: How Diversity Builds Strong Communities - how do you build resiliency in your workplace, in those you teach, in the environmental education field, with staff, and in your community.

The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has just published “Global Warming’s Six Americas: a review and recommendations for climate change communication.”

"Global Warming’s Six Americas" analysis segments the U.S. public into six distinct audiences who each respond differently to the issue of climate change including: Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive.

The article reviews how the Six Americas have changed over time, underlying theory, methodological innovations, and how the framework has informed the decision making of stakeholders .The paper's authors suggest that future research should further develop and investigate the application of the Six Americas within the United States, while also developing tailored segmentations and related tools for other countries.

The paper is free to download through mid June.