Book: Saving Us: A Climate Scientists Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Dr. Katharine Hayhoe 

When: Tuesday, February 21, 2022 | 7:00 PM ET 

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

All are welcome, even if you haven't finished ...or read the book!

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? Read how a San Diego Coastkeeper education team developed climate change lessons and activities for almost 1000 4^th -12^th grade students, helping them to connect human activities, greenhouse gases, and climate change to impacts in our ocean. The students learned specific actions they could take to protect their natural resources, reduce their single-use plastic consumption, and create positive change in their communities. Read all about it.

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 educators working to increase their ocean, climate, and environmental awareness and that of 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:

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Presentation 1: Sound and Color: In this art-science crossover, scientists experimented with translating satellite data used to study the Earth's ocean into music, offering a unique perspective on a traditionally visually based branch of science. With no underlying subjectivity, the data creates natural compositions, a mixture of chaos and uncertainty, but also a sophisticated order, representing the product of life and photosynthesis in the ocean.

Presentation 2: Seagrass Mapping: Satellite imagery from two high spatial resolution, commercial satellite platforms was leveraged to provide a consistent classification approach for monitoring seagrass at eleven study areas across the continental United States, representing geographically, ecologically, and climatically diverse regions. Satellite classification performed best in areas of dense, continuous seagrass compared to areas of sparse, discontinuous seagrass and provided a suitable spatial representation of seagrass distribution within each study area.

Join both presentations.

Making Climate Change Connections Across the Curriculum with CLEAN and UGC: Practices for Systems Thinking in the Classroom 

Thursday, February 9, 2023 | 6:00 - 7:00 pm ET

Climate change is connected to interdisciplinary topics across the curriculum. Explore how to engage students in systems thinking and construct explanations about the world around them! Register now.

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Teaching Climate Consequences with CLEAN: Motivate and Inspire, Don’t Despair

Wednesday, February 15, 2023 | 6:00 - 6:30 pm ET

The consequences of climate change are all around us, unfortunately. How can we teach these topics without overwhelming our students or causing anxiety? Register now.

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Exploring Hands-on, STEM-based Energy Activities for the Classroom

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 | 6:00 - 7:00 pm ET

During this webinar, educators from the NC Energy Literacy Fellows program will share ideas and resources for incorporating hands-on STEM-based energy activities into instruction. Register now.

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Beyond Doom & Gloom: How to Teach Climate Change Towards Empowerment with CLEAN

Thursday, April 20, 2023 | 6:00 - 7:00 pm ET

Educators will learn about CLEAN’s new resources related to climate mental health and will walk away with a variety of strategies and activities to integrate into their curriculum as they engage with today's youth. Register now.

The National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates: Beyond Basic Science- Connecting Climate to Communities is a research experience to introduce undergraduates and K-12 educators to transdisciplinary science and how the latest climate change research is gathered, analyzed, and communicated to stakeholders and policymakers. Participants engage in one of the 2023 Research Projects, participate in professional development activities beyond direct research, and build professional relationships and a network in a world-renowned research environment. Apply now.

Session dates: July 10-21 and July 15-26 2023 

Application Deadline: February 15, 2023

Register to join the National Academies for a conversation about how to address emissions of methane, the second largest contributor to climate change. Closed captioning will be provided. The conversation will include questions from the audience and will be recorded and available to view on Climate Conversations: Methane webpage after the event.

Thursday, February 16, 2023 | 4:00 pm ET

Water cycle diagrams are widely used by educators to convey core scientific principles about water storage and movement on Earth. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently redesigned its water cycle diagram, putting humans at the forefront. The new diagram emphasizes scientific accuracy, design, and usability in educational settings. Educators were also key contributors to the design.  Download the new diagram and learn more about the water cycle (and other water topics) at the USGS Water Science School.

During this free webinar, USGS scientists will share information about the basis and importance of the new diagram, as well as the science it depicts. Register now. 

A recording of the webinar will be posted on the AGI YouTube Channel.

Ecology Project International (EPI) announces free, classroom-ready, NGSS-aligned lessons, storylines, and professional development to help teachers connect the classroom to the environment.

2023 Virtual workshops will introduce teachers to resources for Biology, Environmental Science, Earth Science, and Leadership in grades 6 - 12. Zoom with EPI this year for professional development! Learn more about each of EPI’s workshops below and register today!:

• Thursday, February 23, 2023 | 6:30 pm ET: Populations and Pressures
• Thursday, May 25, 2023 | 6:30 pm ET: Environmental Literacy & Leadership

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 and apply!.

NOAA  has launched the “Picture Climate Change'' student photo contest and is looking for images showing climate change in the United States. This contest is a chance for students to showcase their climate change experience through the lens of a camera, and provide a short written narrative. The narrative should describe the student’s climate change photo, provide a short story about how the climate variability, change, or resilience is captured in the image, or describe how climate change will impact their local community and future. Details are available here. 

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

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

NOAA Ocean Service Education has three new themed education models  - Ocean Food Webs, Observations and Models, and Predators and Prey to help students explore science. 

The modules contain 21 interactive investigations aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In these investigations, students use scientific data and models — the same ones NOAA scientists use — to explore human-caused changes in ocean ecosystems and the impacts these changes have on the animals in those ecosystems. The modules include resources for educators, including student worksheets, NGSS alignment, and presentation graphics. 

NOAA Ocean Service Education and K2 Studios  have developed the Ocean Odyssey Educators Guide - eight elementary school lesson plans inspired by the IMAX film, Ocean Odyssey. Watching the film is not required to carry out any of the lesson but educators can sign up  to view a special extended preview of the film! The lessons progress for use from younger to older grade bands (2-5), but all contain aspects and resources which may be adapted for all grade levels..

Ocean Odyssey lessons include:

Ocean Dwellers: Students learn about types of plants and animals that live in the ocean 

Earth’s Water Moves: Water movement around the world and its importance

Lives of Humpback Whales: Comparison of whale lives to humans.   

Whale Migration: How scientists identify and track humpback whales

Ocean currents: The role of the ocean in climate and how water moves

Fishing for Solutions: The strengths and limitations of different fishing methods

Food Matters: Basic fish anatomy and what happens to the food that an animal eats

Cycles in the Ocean: Students model of how water moves around the world, and learn how one major ocean current system may be slowing down

Twenty & Odd is a short National Park Service film, produced by six African American women as part of the 400 Years of African American History Commission Act signed by Congress in 2018. Through thoughtfully curated scenes and audio of "Still I Rise" by Dr. Maya Angelou, the production team created an educational tool to inform, highlight and educate the nation on the trauma, resilience and beauty of the African American experience in this country. Twenty & Odd provides an opportunity to motivate and empower people to cultivate personal connections with national parks and embrace parks as welcoming sources of health and healing.

Celebrate Black History Month with crafts and resources to spark creativity and test your knowledge as you learn about the trailblazers who light the way for future generations.

• African American Astronaut Puzzles
• Hidden Figures Puzzles and Paper Crafts
• NASA Podcast Playlist: Black History Month
• New Surprisingly STEM Episode: Moon Rock Processors at Johnson Space Center:
  Want to meet a “rock” star or two? The latest episode in the Surprisingly STEM video series highlights Andrea Mosie and Juliane Gross at the Astromaterials lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. It’s their job to keep track of every Moon rock sample brought back to Earth by the Apollo astronauts, and to help scientists all over the world conduct lunar sample research. Learn more about this stellar job and why NASA is going back to the Moon with the Artemis missions. Get a taste of what it’s like to describe rocks like a geologist with this edible rocks activity.

The SDG Academy Library includes free videos on biodiversity that can supplement discussions around COP 15 and its influence. Short videos on the Savanna Grasslands, Amazon Rainforest, Sustainable Forest Management, and more are also available.

SDG Development is an initiative of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSG) that began in 2012 by the UN Secretary General to focus on sustainable solutions to problems we face.

Students can learn about ecological niches using this free activity from the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies’ Project Wild. Students will identify and examine the niches that different wildlife hold across ecosystems using the sheets and cards provided. Videos relating to ecological niches from a range of different professionals are also available.

Climate emotions are a normal response to the climate crisis and can arise from direct experiences (e.g. experiencing extreme weather, or indirect experiences such as learning and reading about the climate crisis). The range of possible emotions are many and valid.  A new Creative Arts Therapy Guide for Climate Emotions has been developed for self care, processing emotions, and to encourage improved well being. It was developed by Eliya-Quaye Constance, a student of art therapy at Lesley University and a Climate and Mental Health Network Intern.

Check out these digital simulations for climate solutions:

Global Energy Advisor: Have your students take on the role of Global Energy Advisor, where they must choose a mix of energy sources to limit emissions while generating enough energy and keeping costs low.

Choose Our Future:  Explore how everyday choices add up to make your carbon footprint, and what the effect would be on the climate if everybody acted the same way as you in the future.

Apply by: February 22, 2023

Applications for Columbia University’s Climate School 2023 Summer Program are live! The Lamont Summer Intern Program is for undergraduates from U.S. colleges and universities. Letters of Recommendation due by February 29, 2023.

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The BOOST Conference is the largest international gathering for after-school and expanded learning professionals. The 2023 conference will take place from April 25-28 in Palm Springs, California. Linda Cliatt-Wayman, CEO of Principal Wayman Consulting and an education leader, and Dee Hankins, an inspirational speaker and storyteller, will both be keynote speakers. Attendees will network with other professionals, participate in workshops, and gain skills and resources to grow their programs. Registration is currently open and on a first-come, first-served basis.

Toyota North America is dedicated to enhancing pollinator habitat on America's public lands. Thanks to their support, the National Environmental Education Foundation is providing $200,000 in grant funding for shovel-ready projects beginning in July 2023. Habitat enhancement projects should directly support the creation, restoration, remediation, improvement, and/or protection of habitats for important pollinator species such as butterflies, bees, bats, and more. The project should impact pollinators on at least 150 acres of public land. Additionally, projects should incorporate community outreach and engagement activities designed to educate and empower the public to help enhance pollinator habitats. Learn more about this exciting grant opportunity.

BIPOC-led groups focusing on water privatization, plastic pollution, or environmental justice are encouraged to apply for The Story of Stuff Project Grassroots Grant Program. Groups with projects that are campaign-focused, community driven, and serve communities of color can receive up to $5,000. Grants are reviewed on a rolling basis and awarded quarterly..

Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) is seeking applicants for their Summer 2023 Marine Conservation Internship. This program will start on May 30 and end on August 11 2023. The application deadline is March 12 2023. Visit www.REEF.org/internship for complete information on how to apply. REEF provides housing and a $200 monthly stipend to each selected Marine Conservation Intern. Reliable transportation is required for this program.