Book: Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have by Tatiana Schlossberg

When: Tuesday, December 13, 2022 | 7:00 PM ET 

Upcoming meeting dates, the Book Club sections, and how to log into our meeting are found in the Book Club section of our Upcoming Events Page.

You can find over 50 fiction, non-fiction, and Young Adult selections from past Book Clubs - with discussion questions, on our Book Club Archive Page.

There’s something for everyone at the NOAA Planet Stewards Book Club. Whether you want to catch up on some knowledge, enjoy a quick fun read, or find a book to use with your students. Join us!

Looking for an inspiring way to engage your students – or entire school in hands-on stewardship? – and be funded by NOAA Planet Stewards? Read Gardening for Carbon Sequestration and learn how teachers at East Syracuse Minoa Central High School in Central New York engaged their students in learning about plant growth, biodiversity, and ecosystems, then had them investigate how their consumer choices and actions impact their individual carbon emissions. The students worked to decrease their carbon footprints and sequester atmospheric carbon through the creation of a school community garden.

If you're looking for 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 the individuals they work with.

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

Join the En-ROADS team for a webinar with Climate Interactive Executive Director Andrew Jones, who recently returned from the COP27 climate negotiations in Egypt. Explore the results achieved (and not achieved) during the conference using the En-ROADS simulator—a user-friendly climate model developed by Climate Interactive and MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative. The En-ROADS Climate Workshop is a free event, and a great remote learning experience. Invite your co-workers, community group, family, students...! Register now for the morning or afternoon session.

Thursday, December 8, 2022 | 12 - 4 pm ET

Register for STEMIE Fest! - a gathering of families, early childhood and early childhood special education professionals, faculty, and others, to engage in innovative and inclusive STEM learning experiences for all young children. This year’s event will be a half-day virtual event followed by a series of targeted professional development opportunities in 2023.  

Join the NASA STEM Engagement & Educator Professional Development Collaborative at Texas State University for a free 60-minute webinar to explore NASA’s remote sensing educational resources and how NASA contributes to the understanding of agriculture and ecosystem changes. Use NASA data to develop or refine your theories about how water and soil impact the ability of a country to grow crops as the climate changes. Test theories and provide evidence for the solutions. Multiple inquiry-based activities will deepen the understanding of the problem of growing crops in countries that are struggling to provide food for their people. Register now. Activities integrate STEM with English language arts skills.

Monday, December 12, 2022 | 5:00 - 6:30 pm ET

Join a youth-facilitated virtual panel with NYC teachers. This discussion will highlight how public middle and high school teachers from New York City teach about climate change in their classrooms, the successful methods they use, challenges they face, and why transformation within the American education system is necessary to prepare students for a climate-altered world. A Zoom link will be provided before the event. Registration is required.

Teachers care deeply about their students and the state of the world. Given that children and young people across the globe are increasingly concerned about climate change, the time to make teaching about it a priority in and out of classrooms is now. This session explores one way of doing this: students and teachers working together as detectives of climate denial and as delegates of climate justice. Join this educator session with James Damico, author of How to Confront Climate Denial: Literacy, Social Studies, & Climate Change.  

Brought to you by the Paleontological Research Institution.

Register today! and please share with your colleagues across the disciplines!

Teach Climate Network workshops and conversations continue into December! There will be a #TeachClimateChat on Twitter and a professional development webinar, both focus on overcoming barriers to teaching climate change in the classroom. These events are open to the public, all educators and community members. Everyone is invited to join in conversation. Register today.

When: February 20 – March 6 2023 (inclusive of 4-day hotel quarantine in Spain and post-ship field trip)

Where: on board the JOIDES Resolution in Tarragona, Spain (the ship will be tied-up dockside)

For whom: Grades 5-12 educators with demonstrated experience and interest in curriculum design

Cost: All travel expenses will be paid for accepted participants. This program is supported by the National Science Foundation

How to apply: You can apply by December 28 through the USSSP’s application portal.

Experienced educators are sought to collaborate with School of Rock in curating and refining their extensive library of educational materials. Educators will live and work aboard the JOIDES Resolution in Spain, immersing themselves in cutting edge science content and processes, while collaborating with program staff and each other on curriculum projects. Participants will have the opportunity for pre- and post-expedition projects and stipends based on these projects. Search the data portal to learn more about our resources: IODP curriculum and materials. (COVID protocols are in place.)

Hey teachers! It’s time for you to have a terrific time getting your hands dirty exploring physical oceanography and weather!  The American Meteorological Society's 2023 summer courses, Project Ocean and Project Atmosphere, are accepting applications through 24 March, 2023. These competitive professional development courses are open to K-12 teachers and include online and in-person components and field experiences. All travel expenses are covered and participants receive stipends and earn graduate credit upon successful completion of the courses. Don’t miss this chance to learn from the experts, connect with other outstanding teachers, and have the earth science experience of a lifetime! Learn more.

Check out these videos from #YouthThurday:

• “Dive into Marine Science” - Join school groups from Gambia as they teach about: aquatic data (salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen); terrestrial data (air temp humidity and dew point); a food web/popcorn game on ocean acidification; clean ups on campus.
• “Youth Divers Panel” - Join a panel discussion with youth diver participants from the BIMS Immersion Program and Black Girls Dive to discuss their experiences SCUBA diving in each program.
• “Youth Leaders Keynote Address by Addison White” - Addison White is the youngest BIMS member, and has already done some amazing things in marine science. She has participant in the Minorities in Shark Science camp in Florida; and is part of the Billion Oyster Project team in New York City. Learn about the ways students can participate in marine science activities before college.
• “Google Me: Making an Impact” - Join this influencer workshop to learn how to create your own social media and online presence (i.e. website creation) while maintaining your authentic self. This workshop will be geared specifically to youth who want to learn steps they can take to have visibility online.

Registration is open for the 2022 Youth Ocean Conservation Summit, which returns to Mote Marine Laboratory for in person attendees, with a virtual option for young ocean advocates around the world. This event will provide youth participants with a unique opportunity to learn about current threats to marine ecosystems and develop action plans for their local communities. Attendees will also take part in special training sessions to ensure a project's success.

The Community Ocean Conservation Film Festival will kick off the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit weekend on the evening of Friday, December 9 at Mote Marine Laboratory – celebrating the impact of young conservation leaders. This special event will feature a showcase of youth-created ocean conservation art and films, and a silent auction/raffle fundraiser to support the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit. Admission to this event is free, but seating is limited and attendees must RSVP by completing the registration form. 

We are seeing an increase in the intensity and frequency of many severe weather events due to climate change. Predicting hurricanes is personal for this month’s expert, Dr. Rosimar Rios-Berrios, who grew up with hurricanes in Puerto Rico. Join us to explore how scientists are hard at work to better predict hurricanes and their impacts so we can work together to build more resilient communities. 

Questions can be submitted in advance if you have students who cannot attend the session live and the recording will be available afterward. More details and registration for each session time can be found on the Meet the Experts page.

You can help others understand climate change and inspire people to take action through art. Youth ages 13-17 are invited to submit artwork related to the topic of climate, people, and nature. Winning artists will be featured in the chapters of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, which is seen by hundreds of thousands of people across the country and around the world. Learn more!

Participants will be asked to create a one-minute video outlining an innovative solution to a current environmental issue that they’re passionate about. Winning videos will be selected by a panel of judges to receive cash prizes, as well as an invitation to the iconic National Geographic Explorers Festival in Washington, D.C.

Students ages 13-18 and educators looking for ways to engage young people around environmental action are encouraged to sign up. Participation is free!

Check out these BIMS bioluminescence resources:

• BIMS Bites Kids Video: Bioluminescence
• Activity: Make Your Own Bioluminescent Water
• Activity: Bioluminescent Works of Art
• Bioluminescent Algae Coloring Page
• Comb Jelly Coloring Page
• Bioluminescent Plankton Coloring Page
• Vampire Squid Coloring Page

The NOAA Ocean Exploration Education team is excited to share a collection of newly-developed educational resources on seamounts for middle and high school students. Recently featured in their professional development mini-series, educators now have access to two student investigations, three fact sheets, and three "Exploration Notes" (stories from the field), and an overview video, all showcasing the geological formation of seamounts and the immense biological diversity they support. Visit the NOAA Ocean Exploration Seamounts Theme Page to find the following resources and so much more!

Student Investigations:

• Formation of Seamounts and Island Chains (6-8th grade)
• Seamounts and Biological Productivity (9-12th grade)

Fact Sheets:

• What is a Seamount?
• How Do Seamounts Form?
• Seamounts: Oases of Life

Exploration Notes:

• Explorations Far Above the Musicians Seamounts
• From Modeling to Diving with SuBastian
• Aboard E/V Nautilus Part II: Welcome to the Octocone

Deep-Sea Dialogues: Seamounts Video This 8-minute video features interviews with seamount experts and will spark excitement about deep-sea features.

It is imperative that we expand our mitigation efforts to limit the amount of human-caused climate change, but we also need to adapt to changes that are already happening. Adaptation will help us become more resilient to extreme weather and other climate hazards we'll face in the future even as we work to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. This new chapter in The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change explores existing and proposed adaptation strategies for a variety of climate hazards and examines some of the challenges these strategies present.

NOAA invites qualified small businesses to submit proposals for research and development of highly innovative technologies that have strong commercial potential and fit within the NOAA mission areas. Topics for this year’s solicitation include

1. Extreme Events and Cascading Hazards
2. Coastal Resilience
3. The Changing Ocean
4. Water Availability, Quality, and Risk
5. Effects of Space Weather
6. Monitoring and Modeling for Climate Change Mitigation.

To be eligible to submit a Phase I application, small businesses must submit a required Letter of Intent via this form. NOAA Phase I SBIR awards provide up to $175,000 with up to a six (6) month period of performance for conducting feasibility and proof of concept research, with a tentative award start date of August 1, 2023.

The National Science Foundation administers Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)  are the nation’s highest honors for teachers of STEM, including Computer Science. This year's (2022-2023) awards will honor science, technology, engineering, or mathematics teachers working in grades 7-12. Applications and/or nominations are now open. Recipients will receive the following:

• A certificate signed by the President of the United States.
• A paid trip to Washington, D.C., to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities.
• A $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.
• An opportunity to build lasting partnerships with colleagues across the nation.

Fund for Teachers provides grant money to full-time, classroom teachers (up to $5000 per individual teacher, up to $10,000 for a team) to design and execute their own summer learning experience.  The money can be used to create your own learning experience or to attend a conference/professional development that already exists. 

Full-time teachers (who are in at least their third year of teaching), anywhere in the US can apply.  Additionally,  Teachers of Color can attend application support sessions by signing up. Learn more and apply.