The Watch. News You Can Use From NOAA Planet Stewards - 12 Sept. 2023
NOAA's National Ocean Service sent this bulletin at 09/12/2023 06:00 AM EDT
NOAA Planet Stewards First Book Club Meeting is Tonight!
Kids Against Climate Change
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Above are photos of a European green crab carrying thousands of eggs; a sign alerting residents to be aware of green crabs; and a photo of Linda Shaw, NOAA Wildlife Biologist, and Dr. Joseph Krieger, NOAA’s Invasive Species Program Coordinator. NOAA’s Coast Survey: Mapping US Waters for Navigation and MoreSeptember 14, 2023 | 2:00 - 3:30 PM Eastern
NOAA Needs to Hear From You!Comment By: September 21, 2023
The Florida Keys: Dive into History
Catch a Sneak Peek of "Teek and Tom Explore Planet Earth"Coming in early 2024
 Fuel for the StormWhere do hurricanes come from? And how could our warming ocean lead to bigger hurricanes in the future? Watch the NOAA video: Fuel for the Storm (2:12)
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Recruiting Educators for Polar STEAM
Apply by: September 24, 2023
Polar STEAM is recruiting educators for 2024–2025 collaborations with polar researchers to create educational resources about polar regions and science. Applications are open for Arctic and Antarctic deployments as well as virtual collaborations in both regions. This opportunity is open to community college and minority-serving institution faculty, middle and high school educators, and informal educators. |
Science Update: The Science of Oil Spill Response and Cleanup
Join NOAA and NSTA on Thursday, September 28, 2023, from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM ET, for an NSTA Science Update.Major oil spills are rare, but thousands of spills occur each year into our coastal waters, which can harm people, the environment, and cause substantial and widespread economic impacts. In this web seminar, Douglas Helton - Regional Operations Supervisor for NOAA's Emergency Response Division, will discuss improvements in prevention, response to recent incidents, research on the detection and surveillance of spills at sea, cleanup alternatives, and the effects on natural resources. |
Ocean Expert Exchange webinar series!
Ocean Expert Exchange webinars delve into marine science, technology and conservation topics with subject-matter experts. Ocean Expert Exchange events welcome audiences of all ages, include a brief presentation on the featured topic, followed by Q&A with attendees. Curated educational resources are also made available for educators planning to dive deeper into the subject with their students. Event livestreams are accessible via Zoom (recommended, and pre-registration required) and YouTube. For more information on these free events and to register, visit the site here. |
Virtual Teacher Workshop: Resilient Colorado
Must Register by Sep 22
Secondary Earth and environmental science, civics, and social studies teachers are invited to learn a new place-based, NGSS-aligned science curriculum on natural hazards. The unit includes a lesson on natural hazards (wildfire, flood, or drought) that uses current Colorado case studies and local datasets, a scenario-based role-play game, and a project-based learning unit for students to take action to make their community more resilient. Instructional strategies include community-engaged learning, gamification, and design thinking. The course will be held with several virtual class meetings to discuss course material, scheduled based on your availability. Upon completion, attendees will receive 2 continuing education credits through Western Colorado University. Registration costs are free for Colorado educators. |
The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest is Back!
Apply by Oct 27!
The 14th annual contest is now open. Public school teachers in grades 6-12 can apply now to submit their students’ projects to the 2023-2024 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest, for a chance at winning their school $100,000 in Samsung tech products and classroom materials. Three National Winner schools receive a $100K prize package including Samsung products and classroom resources. 10 schools will be named National Finalists and chosen to receive a $50K prize package including Samsung products and classroom resources. 50 schools will be named State Winner and will receive a $12,000 prize package including Samsung products and classroom resources, plus the opportunity to work with a Samsung employee mentor! |
What Story Would You Like to Share?
For the 13th annual Ocean Awareness Contest: Tell Your Climate Story, become a climate witness and share your own unique climate experience. Think about climate issues and solutions and consider how they have affected you or your community. Find something that resonates deeply with your experiences – perhaps a climate impact you witnessed, an initiative that you’ve participated in, or a source of strength and inspiration when thinking about the climate crisis. Share your personal climate story through art, writing, performance, film, or multimedia. What is the story that you’d like to tell? Contest Details:
Explore the Submission Requirements to learn more about the Categories. |
The 2024 National Geographic Society Slingshot Challenge
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The Slingshot Challenge empowers your students to be change-makers and find solutions to the world’s top environmental issues. 13-18 year-olds are challenged to create a one-minute video with their solution to our current environmental problems. By joining the challenge you'll receive educator resources, opportunities to meet with National Geographic Explorers, and regular updates to help your students submit their one-minute video. |
Register for Ecybermission 2023-2024!
A Notice of Intent is Due by Oct 16
eCYBERMISSION is a free, virtual STEM competition for 6-9 graders, administered by the National Science Teaching Association. Students form teams of 2-4, led by an adult Team Advisor, and select a problem in their community to investigate with science, or solve with engineering.
eCYBERMISSION aligns with NGSS, Common Core, and state science standards. Free teaching resources are available here. Plus, you can apply to receive funding for your classroom through eCybermission's mini-grants program.
2024 NASA Gateway to Blue Skies Competition
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As climate change increasingly influences the frequency and severity of natural disasters on a global scale, opportunities to contribute at the intersection of technological advancement, aviation, and natural disasters grow in both number and importance. NASA Aeronautics is dedicated to expanding its efforts to assist and speed up recovery efforts. In the 2024 Blue Skies Competition,, teams will conceptualize feasible and viable aviation-related system(s) that can be applied by 2035 to management of a chosen type of natural disaster. Teams are encouraged to consider high-potential technologies and systems that aren’t currently mainstream or are highly regarded as becoming mainstream in the future. |
Future City Competition
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Future City is a hands-on, cross-curricular middle school STEM educational program with prizes suitable for all environments—in-school, after-school, and youth-focused organizations such as Scouts or 4H. This year, students are challenged to build 100% electrically powered cities with energy generated from sources that keep their citizens and the environment healthy and safe. Register now! |
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Looking for resources for the new school year ahead? NOAA Education’s resource database, NOAA Sea to Sky, can help you quickly find lesson plans, videos, data resources, activities, and more created by NOAA and our partners.
Not sure where to start? Check out these resources we think are a must-have for the classroom this year.
A New Season of Ocean Optimism!
The New Ocean Optimism podcast episode is out now! Featuring the internationally renowned marine scientist Dr. Joeli Veitayaki from Fiji, this episode sheds light on the power of partnerships in ocean conservation. Discover the challenges faced by small island nations and the unwavering determination that drives change. Dr. Veitayaki paints a vivid picture of resilience and community-centric efforts that inspire hope. Don't miss his insights on how culture and conservation intertwine in his FREE book "Living from the Sea: Culture and Marine Conservation in Fiji". Check out all the Ocean Optimism podcasts and feel good about what we can do to help our ocean. |
Marine Debris Prevention Best Practices Manual
Created by One Cool Earth with funding provided by the NOAA MarineDebris Program, this Marine Debris Prevention Best Practices Manual is a comprehensive guide to help establish lasting change on school campuses. It covers tips and tricks for engaging students in assessing school waste, bringing student leaders together into “Green Teams,” and supporting the entire school community with marine debris prevention. Learn creative ways to minimize waste in the classroom, in the cafeteria, in school gardens, and on the playground. These strategies are accompanied by case studies, standards-aligned lesson plans, videos, and other resources. |
National Estuarine Research Reserve Data Mysteries
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Grab your magnifying glass and we’ll bring the data. Let’s solve a mystery .From oyster health to wildfire predictions and water quality, teachers can work with their students to explore real events using the System-Wide Monitoring Program data from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. Students graph and then analyze each parameter to find out what happened in the watershed or estuary based on the data from actual events. Through these mysteries, students gain awareness of the System-Wide Monitoring Program, learn to use the data graphing tool to interpret ecological data, and incorporate background information into their conclusions. Access the mysteries here. |
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Explore The Dangers of Sea Level Rise with your Students
This resource from the CLEAN collection has teaching tips, relevant standards, and other guidance for how to use an interactive tool from Climate Central to help students identify potential risks (to people, buildings, infrastructure, contamination, land) for selected coastal areas in the US, using scenarios of water level rising from 0-10 feet. |
Make an Earth Science Connection
Every day, Earth-observing satellites like NOAA and NASA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) help scientists measure land surface temperature, soil moisture, and precipitation. Bring the excitement of these Earth science observations into your K-12 classroom with these hands-on activities. |
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Visualizing Energy is an open access, interdisciplinary science project working to increase knowledge about a sustainable and just energy transition. It uses engaging visualizations coupled with data stories to communicate in clear, concise, jargon-free language. It uses energy as an organizing principle to reveal logical connections across multiple disciplines. It focuses on three interconnected themes: energy and human well-being; the history of energy transitions; and equity issues surrounding energy transitions (energy justice, energy burden, energy poverty, energy insecurity). The project is supported by the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability.
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Wayfinder Society for Environmental Education: Free Resources
Wayfinder Society has comprehensive sets of FREE and open-source lessons, classroom toolkits, mini-grants, videos, and a Student Hub with 35 Actions for students to complete at home, in school, or in their community. They cover a range of themes and subjects educators may already be incorporating into curriculum, including Human Impacts, Pollution, Climate Change, Social Sciences, Biology, Synthetic Materials, Economics, Geography, and more. There are How-to Guides, Standard Alignment Guides, articles, community news, and mini-grants to provide educators with emotional, strategic, and financial support as well as connections to other educators passionate about environmental issues. |
Toshiba America Foundation Education Grants
Application deadline: November 1, 2023
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The Toshiba America Foundation awards grants to support innovative STEM educational programs. Grades K-5 teachers are invited to apply for grants up to $1,000 by October 1, 2023. Middle school and high school teachers are invited to apply for grants greater than $5,000 (apply by November 1, 2023). |
New Graduate Student Level Ecosystem Science National Research Traineeship Program.
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Check out this new National Research Traineeship program for graduate students interested in interdisciplinary marine ecosystem science that brings together collaborators from the University of Maine's School of Marine Sciences, School of Computing and Information Science, Native American Studies, and Department of Anthropology.
The program, funded by the National Science Foundation, will support more than 20 graduate students over the next five years. Applications for Fall 2024 are now being accepted.
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Education/Equity Bytes
- Native nations on front lines of climate change share knowledge and find support at intensive camps
- Should AI be Permitted in College Classrooms? 4 Scholars Weigh In
Climate
- Plankton Are Central to Life on Earth. How Is Climate Change Affecting Them?
- Scientists scramble to harvest ice cores as glaciers melt
- Where Dangerous Heat is Surging
- How sea level rise made Idalia’s storm surge worse
- The summer from hell was just a warning
- California is going big on offshore wind. That’s good for climate, but not enough
- What’s the Connection Between Climate Change and Hurricanes?
- Extreme Weather can Flip Forests from Carbon Sinks to Carbon Sources
Ocean, Coastal Weather, Sea Ice, Ocean Life, Water
- One way to save coral reefs? Deep freeze them for the future
- Shipping companies recognized for helping protect migrating whales along NorCal coast
- Study by La Jolla scientists shows how strong-swimming plankton create red tides
- You Can Eat Sushi Sustainably
- Why ‘Hot Springs’ Draw the World’s Largest Gathering of Deep-Sea Octopuses
Weather Extremes and Other Science News of Note
- Plastics Treaty Draft Takes First Step to Reduce Production
- New NASA mission will provide hourly updates of U.S. air quality
- The Biden Administration is ending drilling leases in ANWR, at least for now
- 5 Things To Know As Halftime Of The 2023 Hurricane Season Approaches
- Hurricane Idalia blows flamingos as far as Ohio
- As Hurricane Idalia Made Crystal Clear, We Must Invest in Disaster Mitigation
- As Klamath Dams Come Down, a Once-in-a-Generation River Restoration Begins
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NOAA Planet Stewards Education Program
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