Join the February book club on Monday, February 7 at 8pm ET to discuss:

Our Changing Menu: Climate Change and the Foods We Love and Need

by Michael Hoffmann, Carrie Koplinka-Loehr,
and Danielle Eiseman

(The authors will be joining the event. Don't miss it!)  
All Are welcome! Discussion questions will be posted prior to the meeting on our Website.

To join the discussion Dial 866-662-7513 (toll free) then use the pass code 1170791#.
Learn more here and see our entire lineup for the rest of the 2021-2022 academic year.

This presentation focuses on teaching students about a solution to global warming that is right under their feet and answering the question of our generation: How can we bring the carbon cycle back into balance?

During this broadcast you’ll learn about a free, online middle school unit where students explore the ability of soil to draw down carbon from the atmosphere and store it, allowing it to be used to support the growth of more nutritious food and build healthier ecosystems. The Soil Story Webinar and activity guide are presented by Kiss the Ground, a nonprofit committed to inspiring global participation in soil regeneration, and Life Lab, a nonprofit that cultivates children’s love of learning, healthy food, and nature through garden-based education.

If you're looking for terrific educational resources or ideas to plug into your academic planning, check out archived issues of The Watch! Our team has reviewed all content for use by formal and informal educators working to increase their own ocean, climate, and environmental awareness and that of their students and audiences.

If you have an item you'd like to share with our education community, email us at: oceanserviceseducation@noaa.gov. Be sure to include:

• Event/Item announcement title
• Date and time if applicable
• One paragraph description
• Clear thumbnail image
• Link for more information

Sea level rise is an impact of climate change of special concern to coastal communities around the world. Dr. Ian Miller will talk through the current state of the science as it relates to observed and projected (i.e. future) sea level globally, and in our home waters.

Dr. Ian Miller led the development of Washington State’s most recent sea level rise assessment, and has partnered in the development of comprehensive climate change vulnerability assessments. Register here. 

K-12 students, educators, and parents, can join the online learning series Earth Institute LIVE K12  featuring live lectures and interactive activities with scientists and experts from the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory.

See the full line-up of events through June 2022 and RSVP for teh following January sessions with Lamont Doherty scientists:

Jan 13, 4pm – Using Tools to Explore the Changes of the Polar Regions with Lamont Doherty Director of Educational Field Programs Margie Turrin and education and outreach coordinator Laurel Zaima (Grades 6-12) – RSVP

Jan 27, 4pm – Coral Chemistry and Paleohydrology with Lamont Doherty paleoclimatologist and paleoceanographer Brad Linsley (Grades 9-12 + undergraduates) –  RSVP

Every month the Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers free webinars for K-12 educators that provide background content, highlight new and relevant educational resources, and allow discussion for successful implementation. Each webinar is roughly 50 minutes long with 10 minutes allocated for questions. Access all archived webinars through K–12 Education Cornell Lab's YouTube channel. You can also receive letters of completion or Continuing Education Units. Register for the webinars here.

JOIDES Resolution Onboard Outreach Officers sail on the ship to share the science story with students, families, and the public. Applications will be accepted from classroom teachers, informal science educators, artists, videographers, writers, social media experts and anyone who can make a good case for themselves! Expeditions late in 2022 and 2023 are available. Check out more information and application links here. The deadline for applications is January 21, 2022.

Middle and high school teachers, join MOSAiC  Expedition scientists and curriculum developers as they lead you through "Arctic Feedbacks: Not all warming is equal" a curriculum aligned to NGSS Earth Systems standards where students explore parts of the Earth's climate system via 360° VR tours, authentic datasets, and simulations to construct explanatory models for the units driving question, "Why might the Arctic be warming twice as fast as the rest of the world?", a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. Participants will receive a certificate for 10 PD hours and a free graduate credit from the University of Colorado Boulder. Register for the workshop.  Check out other MOSAiC expedition educational resources. 

The Presidio Graduate School has a facilitated online course for K-12 educators focused on climate change education. The nine-week teacher professional Development, Teaching Climate Change Essentials, includes a learning module each week plus three live interactive webinars with subject experts in the field of climate action. View course syllabus here.

Teachers can enroll for free by using the Scholarship Code: K12Scholar (Note: Scholarship code is applicable to PD hours and CEU course ONLY). For more information visit the course website here.

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The Presidio Graduate School has launched a new teacher prof. development course: Teaching Extreme Weather. Explore the driving forces behind extreme weather events, specifically those occurring where they live. As part of the course teachers create a lesson or series of lessons focused on extreme weather that align to the Next Generation Science Standards as well as to State Standards for their grade level.

Enrollment is FREE for any teachers wanting to take the course for PD hours or CEUs.

Learn more here. 

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) - including computer science, is now accepting nominations! The PAEMST is the highest honor the U.S. government bestows for K–12 mathematics and science teaching, honoring up to 108 teachers each year. Presidential awardees receive a certificate signed by the President; a trip for two to Washington, D.C. to attend recognition events; and $10,000 from the National Science Foundation.

Consider nominating a talented teacher or applying for the award yourself here. This year, teachers in grades K–6 are eligible. Nominations close on January 7. Applications are due by February 6.

We need your help capturing data about clouds where you live! The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program invites you to take part in their upcoming Cloud Challenge: “Clouds in a Changing Climate.” There are two ways to contribute to this citizen science effort:

(1) Submit your own cloud observations using The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer app.(Remember to always be safe and  follow local guidelines while observing.) 

(2) Participate from the comfort of your home through NASA GLOBE CLOUD GAZE. Using this project on the Zooniverse online platform, you can identify cloud types and other  phenomena in photos taken by GLOBE participants.

Link to the challenge page and join the challenge! https://observer.globe.gov/cloud-challenge-2022

ASA's Solve Together is a national contest for middle school classrooms that’s now open to all students and educators!  The second annual contest, held through the virtual Solvably platform, is an opportunity for students to engage  in collaborative problem-solving through the lens of a specific career. This year the challenges are based on real-world problems such as climate change, public health, space exploration and sustainability, or a passion project of your choice. These challenges can be completed in remote, hybrid, or in-person classrooms. 

Registration is available for all students through middle school public educators and will remain open until the contest closes on March 4th, 2022. So far over 700 people representing 45 states have shown interest in the challenge!  

Register Students Here

The 2022 Ocean Awareness Contest is a platform for young people to learn about environmental issues through art-making and creative communication, and become advocates for positive change. Its theme, THE FUNNY THING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, challenges students to learn about climate change and its impact on the ocean, and to explore new ways, like humor, satire, or kitsch, to communicate the urgency of the climate crisis. 

Visit the website for full details, and be sure to check out Bow Seat’s Resource Studio on methods that break the mold on your typical doom and gloom messaging.

Special Awards:

• The We All Rise Prize  View the 2021 Winners.
• The Voice of the Sea Award –  View Voice of the Sea Award Winners.

There will also be an Educator Innovation Awards. If you bring the Ocean Awareness Contest into your physical or virtual classroom this year, we want to hear from you! Nominate yourself or a colleague for a $750 award. Learn more >

How do we know that we’re undergoing unprecedented anthropogenic climate change? Explore the science of climate change with HHMI's newest short film. Learn from four scientists (fire scientist Crystal Kolden, soil scientist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, atmospheric scientist Ralph Keeling, and ice core scientist Kathleen Wendt), who are gathering evidence about climate change, and about how we can use our understanding of climate science to propose solutions to the current crisis.

If you’re looking to deepen students’ understanding of climate change, several of HHMI's resources extend the information presented in the film, The Science of Climate Change. The  “Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide” Data Point activity asks students to examine a graph of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels taken at the NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory - also featured in the film. Students can delve into Earth’s climate history with The Paleoclimate: A History of Change Click & Learn activity. Lastly, students can calculate their personal carbon footprint and suggest ways to reduce carbon emissions with this activity.

Earth HQ

Earth HQ is an interactive tool that combines data, environmental science journalism, and compelling multimedia storytelling to understand the looming climate and nature crisis. Visit the site or read the blog.

Land & Carbon Lab

Land & Carbon Lab is a comprehensive global land monitoring system to track the pulse of the planet’s land and its nature-based carbon. It provides actionable information they need to address the global land squeeze. Visit the site, read the blog, or watch the launch event.

Road salt helps people travel safely in the winter, but road salt doesn't stay on roads: It washes off into freshwater streams, where it damages the quality of our drinking water and hurts organisms that aren’t adapted to life in salty environments. With a FREE Winter Salt Watch Monitoring Kit -from the Izaak Walton League of America environmental group - you can investigate road salt levels in your community and participate in a nationwide citizen science project. It is most appropriate for middle and high school levels. Find out how to get your free kit here!