Category Archives: marine education

Now available: The 2015-16 Oregon Coast Quests Book

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The 2015-16 edition of Oregon Sea Grant’s popular Oregon Coasts Quests Book is now available for sale. This 216-page, spiral-bound book features:Quests-book-cover

Directions for 24 Quests
Updates to existing Quests
Two brand-new Quests
Ten Quests created by youth
Quests in four Oregon counties (Lincoln, Coos, Curry, and Benton)
One Quest with directions in both English and Spanish

The book retails for $10 and is being sold by booksellers around the state. To find out where you can buy a copy, visit the booksellers page on the Quests website: http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/quests. If you happen to be or know of a bookseller interested in selling Quest books, please contact OregonCoastQuests@oregonstate.edu for ordering information.

Find us on Facebook
Oregon Coast Quests now has a Facebook page, where you can get updates, “like” the page, and share your Questing adventures with friends and neighbors: https://www.facebook.com/OregonCoastQuests

Happy Questing!

Beyond the Shore: Oregon’s Plan for Thriving Oceans

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(This post was co-written by Kelsey Adkisson, Oregon Sea Grant Marine Policy Fellow and Ivan Kuletz, Oregon Sea Grant Marine Policy Intern. )
Oregon doesn’t stop at the beach. In fact, the shoreline is just the beginning of an incredibly complex and thriving marine environment full of colorful rockfish, towering kelp forests, expansive sandy flats, jagged rocky reefs, and a diversity of unique invertebrates.

Red sea urchinsTo ensure this environment remains healthy and vibrant, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and Oregon Sea Grant (OSG) teamed up and developed a successful partnership that focuses on enhancing the intersection of science and management. This partnership has fostered fellowships and scholarships that support science-based resource management issues. As part of this collaboration, two OSG Fellows, Kelsey Adkisson and Ivan Kuletz, worked with ODFW on a great example of Oregon’s support for science-based ocean resource management- the Oregon Nearshore Strategy.

The Oregon Nearshore Strategy is a set of prioritized recommendations for conservation, management, and research of species and habitats that occur within state waters. Oregon’s nearshore environment is home to a vast array of species and habitats. All of which are integral components of a complex nearshore ecosystem. This ecosystem is interconnected through food webs, ocean currents, and a multitude of other biological, physical, chemical, geological and human use factors.

Yelloweye RockfishOriginally developed in 2005, and currently undergoing a ten year revision, the Nearshore Strategy was created via a collaborative process led by ODFW. Members of the public, ocean-related businesses, recreational interests, conservation groups, government agencies, tribes, universities, and many other sectors helped contribute to the Strategy.

“At its core, the Nearshore Strategy is intended to contribute to the larger domain of marine resources management and focus actions towards priority issues and areas that have not already received the attention they deserve,” explained Caren Braby, the ODFW Marine Resources Program Manager. “Ultimately, the Strategy’s effectiveness hinges on public input, which helps shape the document, and also ensures that diverse perspectives, values, visions and concerns for the nearshore environment are represented.”

As part of the 2015 revision process, Kelsey and Ivan worked with ODFW Project Leader, Greg Krutzikowsky, to review and update the enormous body of scientific knowledge that underpins the document. This information was used to develop recommendations that support Oregon’s diversity of marine life. As Sea Grant Scholars, it was a unique experience to be part of something that is used by such a broad variety of interest groups, including federal agencies, policy makers, citizen groups, fishermen, conservation organizations, and researchers.
The Nearshore Strategy is currently undergoing public review and the update is due to be completed by October 1, 2015. Public input is essential to shaping and prioritizing resource needs for the next ten years and ODFW is seeking input on the Strategy. To review the Oregon Nearshore Strategy, provide input, or find out more about the revision process please visit the ODFW Oregon Nearshore Strategy website: (http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/nearshore/index.asp).

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(Photo credits: Janna Nichols)

STEM Hub sends teachers to sea

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Newport, OR — Two Oregon educators head out to sea this weekend to take part in a research buoy deployment aimed at learning how changing ocean conditions affect sea life in Pacific Northwest waters.

The deployment, aboard the University of Washington’s R/V Thomas Thompson, takes place over Memorial Day weekend in  NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

Ben Ewing of Lincoln County School District’s Toledo High School and Cindy Bryden from the Haystack Rock Awareness Program are joining others from from Washington state to learn more about oceanographic research addressing critical issues affecting the region’s coastal and inland waters. The teachers plan to incorporate the research and their cruise experiences into their classroom and education programs.

This cruise will deploy a moored buoy system with sensors to monitor ocean and weather conditions off the coast. A Seaglider, an autonomous underwater vehicle, is part of the observing array and will be deployed as well. These instruments are part of a larger observing system known as NEMO (Northwest Enhanced Moored Observatory). While at sea, the team will conduct water and plankton sampling as part of Washington Ocean Acidification Center monitoring for ocean acidification.

Toledo High School teacher Ben Ewing with the SS DolphinEwing will also be deploying the SS Dolphin, a five foot unmanned sailboat built by Sunset Middle School students in Coos Bay. This student-built sailboat is equipped with a GPS unit (Global Positioning System) so Oregon students and the public can track its journey as it rides the wind and currants across Pacific waters.  Funded by the Oregon Coast Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Hub, the SS Dolphin is the second student-built boat to be deployed in the Pacific by research vessels this school year. Plans are underway for Hatfield Marine Science Center researchers to deploy a third student-built boat at the Marianas Trench near Guam in June.

Based at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, the Oregon Coast STEM Hub is one of six regional STEM Hubs funded by the Oregon Department of Education. With more than 50 active partners, including Oregon Sea Grant, the Oregon Coast STEM Hub serves coastal teachers, students and communities along the Oregon coast, connecting them with regional resources and providing world-class STEM experiences.

For more information contact Tracy Crews at OregonCoastSTEM@oregonstate.edu.

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Schools, communities celebrate STEM Week Oregon

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Schools, communities and organizations across the state will take part May 2-10 in STEM Week Oregon, a statewide movement to raise awareness, celebrate and engage young people in learning science, technology, engineering and math.

There’s still time to get involved, by joining in an activity that’s already planned – or coming up with your own. Teachers and their students, parents and their children, community groups and businesses get ideas and register their events at http://stemoregon.org/stemweek/ .

Organizers also invite STEM professionals and companies to volunteer at local schools, talk about their careers and research, or host a field trip for students during the week. Colleges and universities, meanwhile, are invited to host STEM activities for students and the broader community, and encourage students and faculty to sign up with STEMOregon for more ways to get involved.

Position opening: Marine education volunteer coordinator

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Oregon Sea Grant is seeking a full-time (1.00 FTE), 12-month Marine Education Volunteer Coordinator to work at our Visitor Center at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science center in Newport. The coordinator oversees adult volunteers and serves as the Visitor Center’s liaison to the public, current and potential donors and community partners. The application deadline is March 3, 2015.

This position serves a key role at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center Visitor Center, overseeing its most essential resources, its volunteers, assisting with the center’s operations and serving as its liaison to the public, potential and current donors adn community parthers.

For a full position description and to apply, visit the OSU Jobs site.

Shark Day coming at HMSC

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Shark Day 2011

Shark Day 2011

NEWPORT – Did you know more than 30 species of sharks can be found off the Pacific Northwest coastline? Learn more about them this Saturday, Jan 24, as the Hatfield Marine Science Center celebrates our annual Shark Day!

Stop by the Center between 10 am and 4 pm for shark-themed exhibits, biofacts, films and kid-friendly activities related to these fascinating sea creatures.

Afraid of sharks? How about vending machines? You might be surprised to learn which is more dangerous to humans!

Make sure to be here at 1:30 pm. to watch and listen as Dr. Bill Hanshumaker, Oregon Sea Grant’s chief scientist at the Visitor Center, conducts a necropsy on a salmon shark and talks about the animal’s biology, life cycle and habits.

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Waldport High students help NOAA track ocean currents

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R/V Oceanus crew launches Waldport High's drifter (photo by Jeff Crews)

R/V Oceanus crew launches Waldport High’s drifter (photo by Jeff Crews)

WALDPORT – Students at Waldport High School are excited about today’s successful launch of their unmanned sailboat, Phyxius, near the Equator by OSU’s R/V Oceanus, as part of a long-term national  project to better understand ocean currents and transport patterns.

The project, organized by Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, is part of  NOAA’s Educational Passages program, which enlists science, technology, engineering and math classes to build the miniature vessels and set them loose in ocean and coastal waters – and follow them via a NOAA tracking site to see where they go. More than 40 of the drifters have been launched since the program began in 2008.

The unmanned mini-sailboats are self-steering and equipped with GPS tracking devices to study ocean and wind patterns and much more. The five-foot vessels sail directly downwind month after month. As these boats travel the oceans, students can track them via http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/drifter/ and learn and improve their skills in map reading, geography, earth science, oceanography and more.

Waldport’s is just the third drifter to be launched in the Pacific. Most of the others have been launched into the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico. Drifters have landed in Europe, the Caribbean, Cuba, Bahamas, Panama, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia as well as many other places. Some have left Portugal and closely duplicated Columbus’s route to the new world, and another spent time on display in an Irish pub.

Contest enlists students, teachers to stop invasives

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Media ContestOregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Invasive Species Council are enlisting high school students and teachers across Oregon in a multimedia art contest, “Don’t Let It Loose,” urging classrooms to avoid releasing school pets and lab animals into the wild.

Winning student artists and their teachers will receive prizes of up to $400 in each of two categories: static images, and moving media including videos, animations and motion graphics. In particular, organizers are encouraging entries that can be translated into mobile apps and other new technology.

Entries will be judged on how well they convey the “Don’t Let It Loose” message, their visual effectiveness (is the message memorable? Does it compel action?), universal appeal (is the message clear to everyone, regardless of age, language or education level?) and originality.

The contest ties in with an ongoing educational campaign created by Sea Grant’s Watershed and Invasive Species Education (WISE) program, which works to bring invasive species education into the classroom via teacher training, lesson plans and classroom activity guides. The program focuses in part on the perils of turning non-native classroom animals loose in the environment, where they can out-compete native species and become major pests. The program got a boost last year from Oregon cartoonist Jan Eliot, whose popular syndicated cartoon “Stone Soup” featured a storyline about the issue, and who permitted Sea Grant to use her cartoon image in its education campaigns.

For details about the contest, which has a March 15, 2015 deadline, visit the OISC Website.

 

COASTALearning Symposium Oct. 9-10

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NEWPORT – Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Coast STEM Hub are partnering with the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Lincoln County School District to run the annual COASTALearning Symposium in Newport on October 9 and 10.

This professional development event is expected to reach 350 teachers and administrators on the Oregon Coast and focuses on using marine science and coastal natural resources as a context for learning across grades and subjects.  Breakout sessions include topics such as Marine Debris, Fish Habitat and Passage, Ocean Engineering, Watershed Studies, Stewardship Projects, and more.

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Confluence: Oregon communities respond to climate change

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Confluence cover

Cover by artist Earl Newman

Climate change: Some people feel overwhelmed by it, others argue about it. Oregon Sea Grant researchers, Extension specialists and communicators, meanwhile are working to better understand what a changing climate is already doing to the ocean and coast – and helping coastal communities better prepare themselves for higher and more damaging waves, stronger storms, rising sea level and other anticipated changes.

The latest issue of OSG’s Confluence magazine examines some of the issues coastal Oregon faces, and ways in which Sea Grant is helping citizens and scientists address them, from anticipating the effects of climate change to building resilience in the face of them – and better understanding how people with different backgrounds and philosophies can even communicate about the topic.

Other articles in this issue include

  • Profiles of several Oregon Sea Grant Scholars, and how their student experiences in Sea Grant internships and fellowships helped prepare them for careers in marine science and public policy
  • A new app that helps coastal visitors identify critters they find on the beach – and contribute to citizen science by reporting them.
  • A study of how juvenile Dungeness crab move through coastal waters as they mature, and an exhibit at the Hatfield Marine Science Center that explains what scientists are learning, and how it might benefit the crab fishery.

Learn more