1
NOAA Education
Accomplishments Summary
ADVANCING NOAA’S MISSION THROUGH EDUCATION
FISCAL YEAR 2017
1
Letter from the Director ...................................................................................................3
Introduction .......................................................................................................................4
Advancing NOAA’s mission through education .............................................................................................................................................4
NOAA Education by the numbers .....................................................................................................................................................................5
Goal 1: Science-Informed Society ...................................................................................7
NOAA supports STEM in after-school programs at 21st Century Community Learning Centers around the country ................8
Alumni workshops bring teachers together, building on NOAA’s Teacher at Sea experience .........................................................9
Educators in the Pacific connect new discoveries, traditional culture, and the deep ocean ..........................................................10
Students become ‘Estuary Explorers’ at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve .............................................11
Goal 2: Conservation & Stewardship ............................................................................12
Stewardship grants help Florida students take action in their community and improve test scores ............................................13
Great Lakes elementary students recycle 68,000 plastic bags, win Pennsylvania Governor’s Award ........................................14
NOAA Fisheries’ Endangered Species Day Art Contest inspires students in its seventh year .......................................................15
Goal 3: Safety & Preparedness ......................................................................................16
Phoenix-area residents learn the science behind resilience to extreme heat and drought ............................................................17
Severe weather meteorology simulation puts people in ‘The HotSeat’ ................................................................................................18
Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador Care Model strengthens education ............................................................................................19
Resilience planners and climate educators put their heads together to keep communities safe ................................................20
Goal 4: Future Workforce ...............................................................................................21
NOAA Boulder hosts Tribal Colleges and Universities Science Day ....................................................................................................22
NOAA scholars are making waves in the private sector ..........................................................................................................................23
NOAA Satellite Conference launches careers for remote sensing experts ........................................................................................24
Goal 5: Organizational Excellence ..............................................................................25
Update on the FY 2016-2017 Implementation Plan ...................................................................................................................................26
Promoting conservation and stewardship to diverse audiences through national marine sanctuaries ......................................27
Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................28
CONTENTS
Justin Holl, Oce of National Marine Sanctuaries
2
ON THE COVER
Top left: NOAA’s Heather Ziel talks to middle schoolers about how NOAA sci-
entists track marine mammals during the 2017 NOAA Science Camp in Seattle,
Washington. (Jonathan McIntyre, NOAA Fisheries)
Top right: Children from the Hancock County Unit of the Boys and Girls Club
conduct water quality testing on Magnolia Bayou, an important coastal stream
that flows into the Bay of St. Louis in Mississippi. (Barbara Ambrose, Riverside
Technology, Inc., NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information)
Bottom left: ReNEW Schaumburg and Sci Tech students dissect squid during
a Gulf of Mexico Bay Watershed Education and Training grant-funded project.
(Polly Burns)
Bottom right: Teacher at Sea participants go on a boat trip during a workshop.
(NOAA Teacher at Sea Alumni Association)
3
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
Partners and friends of NOAA Education,
On behalf of the NOAA Education community, I am pleased to present our 2017 Accomplish-
ments Report. This report highlights the important role that NOAA educators played in meet-
ing NOAA’s mission of science, service, and stewardship this year.
This past year brought Earth science into the spotlight. An especially active hurricane season
in the Atlantic fueled powerful storms, including Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which devastated
many communities in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, and Caribbean. Deadly wildfires in Califor-
nia destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. Drought, flooding, and tornadoes also in-
flicted heavy damage. NOAA plays a major role in helping our nation prepare for and respond
to these environmental hazards, and our sympathies go out to those aected.
Events like these are turning points in people’s lives. When I ask our scholarship recipients
why they chose to study Earth science, many cite storms of the past—notably, Hurricanes
Andrew, Katrina, and Sandy. It is a reminder that, out of tragic disasters, come young people
ready to rise to a challenge. This is a testament to the innovation and tenacity of our country.
We are proud of NOAA’s role in educating the next generation of scientists, engineers, and
experts who will help us prepare for these storms in the years to come.
Looking to the future, it’s clear that educating the public about Earth science is essential.
Whether we’re preparing for disasters or managing coastal habitats, public engagement is
key. Fortunately, NOAA’s tools for studying Earth are now more capable than ever. GOES-
16, our new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, became our eyes in the sky,
complementing NOAA’s existing array of earth observing satellites and allowing us to see our
planet in near real-time and stunning detail. NOAA probed the deep ocean with robotic ve-
hicles, beaming data and videos live to researchers, students, and the public. We continued
to take the pulse of the planet through a vast network of sensors on land, air, and sea. In this
report, you will see examples of how education connects NOAA’s assets—our people as well
as our ships, labs, aircraft, buoys, data, satellites, and other tools—with the public we serve.
In 2017, we continued to improve our programs
and reach diverse audiences. These strides would
not have been possible without the help of our
friends and partners. It is a true pleasure to work
alongside such innovative organizations, talented
students, and passionate educators. Thank you
for the work that you do.
Sincerely,
Louisa Koch
Director of NOAA Education
4
Education is an important extension of NOAA’s role in environmental research, forecast-
ing, management, and protection. The complex task of improving economic and social
well-being through Earth science would not be possible without an engaged public. It is
not enough for NOAA to study the ocean and atmosphere; we must also educate so indi-
viduals can use our information to support healthy ecosystems, resilient communities, and
robust economies.
NOAA takes an “all hands on deck” approach to education. Our educators and partners
work in dierent oces, programs, states, and countries, covering topics that span from
the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean. And while NOAA educators are our front
line in reaching the public, we also rely on our scientists who volunteer their time to share
their expertise and passion for their work. NOAA education takes place both inside and
outside the classroom, reaching people of all ages.
NOAA has continued to build a community of educators within the agency. The core of this
community is the NOAA Education Council, composed of representatives of education
programs. It is our forum for coordinating eorts and developing new ideas. The Council
provides leadership to the NOAA Education community, which includes the sta, partners,
and friends who support education. Here, we share some of our success stories from fiscal
year (FY) 2017. For more information, see our full accomplishments report.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a scientific agency
that observes and predicts conditions in our ocean and atmosphere. From daily weather
forecasts to long-term climate monitoring and fisheries management to marine com-
merce, NOAA provides communities and decision makers with the reliable information
they need when they need it.
Advancing NOAA’s mission through
education
INTRODUCTION
Students from Meridian Elementary
School look for phytoplankton on
a microscope projection as part of
Great Lakes Education Program on
Lake Erie with Michigan Sea Grant.
(Justin Selden, Michigan State
University)
5
58 million people visited informal
education institutions hosting NOAA-supported
exhibits or programs.
NOAA works with institutions to infuse NOAA science into exhibits and
programs at science centers, zoos, aquariums, or other informal institutions.
These institutions are our ambassadors, helping us reach many more people
than we could alone.
450+ institutions increased educational
capacity through NOAA-funded centers, exhibits,
or programs.
NOAA partners with and funds educational and interpretive programs and
exhibits at other organizations, including museums, science centers, after
school programs, and nonprofits. By investing in these partners, we engage
more people while building enduring relationships with organizations that
share our mission.
450,000+ P-12 students participated
in NOAA-supported formal education programs.
NOAA supports opportunities to work with students while they are at school,
integrating NOAA science and resources into classrooms and the formal
learning experience. Students therefore have the opportunity to learn about
Earth science from the agency charged with understanding and predicting
changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts.
2.5 million youth and adults
participated in NOAA-supported informal
education programs.
Both directly and through partners, NOAA supports interactive informal edu-
cational programs. Children, families, adults, and communities participate in
programs that enhance stewardship and understanding of the natural world.
Working in the informal education setting, NOAA extends educational oppor-
tunities outside the classroom and promotes lifelong learning.
NOAA Education by the numbers
INTRODUCTION
6
25,000+ educators participated in
NOAA-supported professional development
programs.
NOAA supports and trains teachers and informal educators in Earth science
and related topics. The state of the science is constantly changing as we
discover more and develop new ways to gather environmental intelligence.
Educator professional development programs provide direct conduits from
NOAA experts to teachers and classrooms around the nation.
44 million visits were made to NOAA
Education websites that support a broad
spectrum of educational activities and provide
critical information to the nation.
NOAA provides educational resources online. These resources include
student opportunities, lesson plans, activities for children and families, and
more.
790+ postsecondary degrees
in NOAA-related disciplines were awarded to
students supported by NOAA in higher education
programs.
NOAA’s scholarship programs support and train students as they complete
bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and law degrees in NOAA-related fields.
These programs support the best and the brightest students from diverse
backgrounds to foster the next generation of NOAA scientists, engineers,
lawyers, resource managers, and other experts.
4,400+ postsecondary students
were trained in NOAA-related sciences through
NOAA-funded higher education programs.
NOAA prepares undergraduate and graduate students for science, technol-
ogy, engineering, and math (STEM) careers at NOAA and beyond. Students
participate in research and career development opportunities, building skills
and networks that will carry them into successful careers in Earth science,
resource management, and other environmental fields.
INTRODUCTION
7
Science-Informed Society
An informed society has access to, interest in, and understanding of NOAA-related sciences and
their implications for current and future events.
OVERVIEW //
NOAA’s education programs provide opportunities for students and the public to learn
about science and engage in our mission. In Goal 1, we lay the groundwork for an in-
formed and scientifically literate society. We work with a wide array of educators and
partners who collectively reach millions of people. We aim to inspire students and the
public, help educators incorporate NOAA resources into their classrooms, and build en-
during relationships with partners whose expertise complements our own.
GOAL 1
OBJECTIVES
1.1. Youth and adults from all backgrounds improve their understanding of NOAA-relat-
ed sciences by participating in education and outreach opportunities.
1.2. Formal and informal educators integrate NOAA-related sciences into their curricu-
la, practices, and programs.
1.3. Formal and informal education organizations integrate NOAA-related science
content and collaborate with NOAA scientists on the development of exhibits, media,
materials, and programs that support NOAA’s mission.
Kanesa Duncan Seraphin
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
8
FEATURED STORY //
NOAA supports STEM in after-school
programs at 21st Century Community
Learning Centers around the country
The Waterbury Public Schools District is one of the 30 lowest performing districts in Con-
necticut, and 72.5% of their students qualify for the free or reduced price lunch program.
This summer, 75 Waterbury students from grades three to five and their teachers dis-
covered watershed science and explored nearby Long
Island Sound and Candlewood Lake with EdAdvance,
an education provider that worked with the schools to
present “WoW! The Wonders of Watersheds.” Academic
enrichment activities like WOW that complement regu-
lar academic programs are a great asset for students in
underserved schools. Thanks to a NOAA and Department
of Education out-of-school pilot program, these students
and over 1,500 others across the country had access to
high-quality, watershed-focused STEM education in 2017.
Out-of-school programs encourage student interest in
learning and engage students who might not otherwise
have the opportunity to participate in STEM activities. The
U.S. Department of Education’s 21st Century Community
Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program is the largest out-
of-school program in the nation, serving over 1.5 million
students—particularly those who attend high-poverty and
low-performing schools—in all 50 states. In 2017, the U.S.
Department of Education invited NOAA to join a federal
initiative to support STEM activities at these 21st CCLC
sites. As a result, NOAA and the National Marine Sanc-
tuary Foundation developed a pilot grant program to
provide 21st CCLC sites with authentic STEM experiences
using components of NOAA’s Bay Watershed Education
and Training (B-WET) Meaningful Watershed Educational
Experiences (MWEEs).
MWEEs are locally relevant, authentic experiential activities
that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom,
and they aim to increase the environmental literacy of all
participants. Through this new collaboration, experienced
B-WET MWEE providers worked with 21st CCLC sites to
provide academic enrichment experiences to students and capacity-building to educators.
NOAA resources were used to increase participants’ understanding and stewardship of
watersheds and related ecosystems. By following the MWEE framework, STEM education
was contextualized, emphasizing connections with students’ lives, choices, and communi-
ties.
In early 2017, the NOAA/21st CCLC pilot grant program awarded $500,000 to 17 pilot proj-
ects, impacting 37 sites in 15 states and all seven B-WET regions. Over 1,600 youth and
184 21st CCLC educators and sta explored and investigated their local watersheds during
out-of-school time. The evaluation indicated that projects excelled at making activities rel-
evant to students’ lives and improved students’ understanding and awareness of the local
watershed. Pilot grantees also forged strong collaborations with local 21st CCLC sites,
establishing relationships that have the potential to be sustained beyond the pilot program
funding.
Students from the Mountaineer
Boys and Girls Club in West Virginia
work with Friends of Deckers
Creek to plant a raised wildflower
garden at the Boys and Girls Club
site. Students learn about native
pollinators and habitat creation
for local species as part of a 2017
NOAA-21st CCLC Watershed STEM
Education Partnership Grant. (Friends
of Deckers Creek)
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
9
FEATURED STORY //
Alumni workshops bring teachers
together, building on NOAA’s Teacher
at Sea experience
NOAA’s Teacher at Sea (TAS) Program provides a unique at-sea research experience for
teachers, who often describe the opportunity as “transformational.” The program encour-
ages teachers to engage with the TAS Alumni Association and connect with each other
via regional workshops. Because research reveals a positive correlation between student
achievement and teacher knowledge of science content and pedagogy, the Teacher at
Sea Program structures these workshops to expand the teachers’ science knowledge,
introduce them to local NOAA resources and research, and solidify
bonds between educators.
In FY 2017, the TAS Alumni Association collaborated with NOAA
laboratory sta in the Pacific Northwest and Gulf of Mexico to
host alumni workshops. Workshops included NOAA facility tours,
presentations by scientists, hands-on educational activities, and
lesson plan exchanges.
All of the participants of both workshops found them so useful that
they planned to incorporate content, activities, and experiences
from the workshop into their curricula, with some doing so the very
next week.
Eighteen alumni from six Pacific Northwest states convened at
NOAA’s Western Regional Center in Seattle, Washington, in No-
vember 2016. Scientists from the Alaska and Northwest Fisheries
Science Centers, the Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, and the
local Weather Forecast Oce gave presentations. Research topics
included estimating marine mammal populations, mitigating pollut-
ed stormwater runo, collecting environmental data through buoys
and autonomous sail drones, and forecasting local weather and
water conditions. The teachers also built miniature, underwater
remotely operated vehicles.
“I found it very valuable to reconnect with my experience in TAS
and all I learned from it,” wrote one Seattle workshop participant,
“I’m excited to redesign my lessons and share them more thor-
oughly with the students and the community.”
Seventeen alumni from nine Gulf Coast and Southeast states then
met at NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center Laboratory in
Pascagoula, Mississippi, in May 2017. Local NOAA scientists taught
the teachers about sea turtle, groundfish, and larval fish studies, and a shark biologist led
the teachers in hands-on shark dissections. On the second day, the teachers participated
in a trawling demonstration aboard NOAA Research Vessel
Caretta
and went ashore to
clean up a nearby barrier island.
Along with hands-on experience and learning directly from scientists just as they did
at sea, Pascagoula workshop participants stated that “meeting the other teachers and
NOAA personnel was most beneficial” and that “this type of networking is very valuable
and somewhat rare for teachers.” By connecting with fellow alumni and staying engaged
in scientific research, these educators are better able to pass that knowledge on to their
students long after they return from sea.
NOAA Teacher at Sea alumni came
together in Pascagoula, Mississippi,
(upper) and Seattle, Washington,
(lower) to learn about scientific
research in the region, expand
their STEM education network, and
enhance their at-sea experience.
(Teacher at Sea Alumni Association)
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
10
FEATURED STORY //
Educators in the Pacific connect new
discoveries, traditional culture, and the
deep ocean
It’s not every day that a research vessel visits a remote island in the middle of the Pacific
Ocean. Whenever the NOAA Ship
Okeanos Explorer
arrives in such a place, the team
connects educators to the research taking place in their own deepwater backyards. From
July 2015 through September 2017, NOAA’s Oce of Ocean Exploration and Research
(OER) and partners conducted multiple ocean exploration expeditions in the Central and
Western Pacific Ocean aboard the
Okeanos Explorer
as part of the three-year Campaign to
Address Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean NEeds (CAPSTONE). Expedi-
tions targeted marine national monuments and national marine sanctuaries. These unique
places contain some of the last pristine marine ecosystems on the planet and harbor
numerous protected species, undiscovered shipwrecks, and cultural landscapes sacred to
the indigenous peoples of the Pacific.
CAPSTONE was also an important opportunity to share ocean exploration results with
Pacific Islanders. In April 2017, the
Okeanos Explorer
docked at Pago Pago, American
Samoa, after expeditions focused on the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa
and surrounding waters. Working closely with partners in the National Marine Sanctuary
System, OER hosted events to share exploration results with the local community. These
events included a professional development workshop and special tours of the ship for
educators. OER provided educators with new lessons based on recent exploration results
and other teaching resources tailored to American Samoa. The workshop was hosted by
the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa at the Tauese P.F. Sunia Ocean Center
in Pago Pago.
Forty-five public and private school educators
from American Samoa participated in an exer-
cise designed to teach their students creative
communications skills to share ocean explo-
ration discoveries with their village elders.
Educators built short presentations that shared
discoveries from the 2017 American Samoa Ex-
pedition, wrote stories and songs, and created
new games to highlight recent findings and the
excitement of exploring the deep ocean in the
Central Pacific.
The participants also incorporated the impor-
tance of communicating Samoans’ unique
relationship with the sea based on the living
tradition of
Fa’a Samoa
(the Samoan way). By
maintaining the vibrant traditions, values, and
legends that connect the Samoan people to
the land and sea, the local community plays an
integral role in protecting and preserving natural
and cultural resources.
These activities expose educators in remote locations to NOAA and ocean exploration,
increase their appreciation and understanding of the deep water ecosystems of their re-
gion, and help them share authentic, current ocean science with their students, creating a
bridge between sacred traditions and modern ocean exploration.
An educator presents during a
communication lesson in a 2017
professional development workshop
at the Tauese P.F. Sunia Ocean
Center in American Samoa. (Emily
Narrow, Global Foundation for Ocean
Exploration)
“Thank you! This
is by far the best
activity/professional
development. This
will really help me in
my Earth Science and
Biology [instruction].”
- Workshop participant
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
11
FEATURED STORY //
Students become ‘Estuary Explorers’ at
the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine
Research Reserve
Elkhorn Elementary School in California serves a predominantly low-income, Hispanic
community that resides within the Elkhorn Slough watershed. In 2014, the Elkhorn Slough
National Estuarine Research Reserve received a Bay Watershed Education and Training
(B-WET) grant to create the Estuary Explorers Club, an after-school program in partnership
with Elkhorn Elementary School. This program provides a unique opportunity for local
students to experience the Elkhorn Slough reserve.
The Estuary Explorers Club is a one-day-a-week after-school program that engages 80
to 100 second- through fifth-grade students in watershed-focused activities. In Septem-
ber, these local school children arrive at the gates of the Elkhorn Slough reserve ready to
explore. This program immerses children in the environment through field-walks, hands-on
activities, and direct interactions with scientists.
Over the past three years, the Explorers have conducted field studies and collected data
through activities that take them into the field with reserve researchers and stewardship
sta. Lessons addressed natural resource priorities in Elkhorn Slough: water quality and
invasive species, marine and coastal habitat protection, coastal resilience, and climate
change. Students gained skills working with water quality tools like the Secchi disk and
salinity refractometers as they examined the Slough using the same tools NOAA scientists
use.
The Explorers adopted two restoration sites that they visited several times throughout the
year for weeding and planting. They learned about the value of restoring native plants to
an area and saw the bounty of their work as the sites expanded. “I love dirt! I use[d] to be
afraid, but now I want to roll in it!” said one participant.
At the end of each year, Estuary Explorers worked in teams to create posters that address
the connections between the watershed, the estuarine ecosystem, and their own lives.
Estuary Explorers presented their projects at an
evening event for family and friends. Parents were
enthusiastic about the program. One parent com-
mented, “She loves being an Estuary Explorer and
coming to the reserve, she can’t talk enough about
it!”
The true success of this program was watching the
students return each year excited to take on the role
of mentor. Students who participated in the first year
of the program as second graders were fifth graders
in 2017. They developed into passionate stewards
for the reserve and confidently shared lessons they
learned with younger students.
The long-term goal of the Elkhorn Slough education
team is to provide ongoing estuarine education
experiences for children to enrich their lives and
ultimately benefit the health of the Elkhorn Slough
and the surrounding coastal ecosystems. This is one
of the many education eorts underway across the
country that engage students and communities in
the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.
Estuary Explorers conduct field
work at the Elkhorn Slough National
Estuarine Research Reserve. (Virginia
Guhin, Elkhorn Slough National
Estuarine Research Reserve)
12
Conservation & Stewardship
Individuals and communities are actively involved in stewardship behaviors and decisions that
conserve, restore, and protect natural and cultural resources related to NOAA’s mission.
OVERVIEW //
Promoting awareness of conservation and stewardship is an important way to share
NOAA’s mission with students and the public. Our programs enable people to partici-
pate in habitat monitoring and restoration, everyday behaviors, and policy changes that
help improve natural resource management. We are making progress by understanding
how our education portfolio supports stewardship and by encouraging educators and
institutions to integrate stewardship actions into their educational projects.
GOAL 2
OBJECTIVES
2.1. Youth and adults from all backgrounds are knowledgeable about conservation and
stewardship practices and skilled in applying them to address local, regional, national,
and global issues related to NOAA’s mission.
2.2. Formal and informal educators integrate NOAA-related conservation and steward-
ship concepts and activities into their curricula, practices, and programs.
2.3. Formal and informal education organizations establish guidance and provide sup-
port toward increasing participation of education audiences in conservation and stew-
ardship activities related to NOAA’s mission.
Claire Fackler, Oce of National Marine Sanctuaries
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
13
FEATURED STORY //
Stewardship grants help Florida
students take action in their community
and improve test scores
Rising sea levels and weather-driven storm surge threaten to inundate low-lying coastal
communities and ecosystems. This is becoming increasingly problematic for people,
property, and the economy. In Florida, unusually high tides and moderate to heavy rains
routinely cause coastal flooding, costly disruptions to communities, and public health and
water quality challenges. Teacher Chris Simoniello took action with local St. Petersburg
K-12 students through a stewardship project funded by the NOAA Climate Stewards
Education Project.
Through NOAA Climate Stewards, educators can apply to
join the stewardship community and receive funding to sup-
port activities that mitigate or adapt to the impacts of climate
change. With funding during the 2016–2017 school year, Chris
Simoniello led 60 students from Title I schools in 29 hands-on
science lessons. Topics included natural and human contri-
butions to global climate change, the role of coastal wetlands
in the sequestration of carbon, and assessing vulnerability to
inundation by looking at a variety of flood maps and models.
The students developed plans for adaptation to rising sea
levels and emergency preparedness plans for severe weath-
er. They also learned about a variety of career options during
their lessons, including biogeochemist, meteorologist, wetland
ecologist, floodplain manager, and water quality manager. Part-
ners included the University of South Florida, Weedon Island
Preserve, Tampa Bay Watch, the City of St. Petersburg, Tampa
Bay Estuary Program, and the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean
Observing System.
While learning the science behind global warming, sea level rise, and storm surge, the stu-
dents put their knowledge into action. By changing their behaviors related to transporta-
tion, food choices, home energy use, and waste management, they reduced the amount of
carbon they released into the atmosphere by 0.8 tons. The students also restored habitat
at Bay Vista Park in St. Petersburg, Florida, planting 1,350 plugs of Spartina in wetlands,
within an area of 2,293 square feet. These marsh grasses will sequester up to 35.77 tons
of carbon dioxide annually.
In addition to restoring their local environment, the students gained science knowledge.
These improvements were measured by pre- and post-testing, which demonstrated
increases in knowledge and understanding ranging from 16% to 88%, respectively. In
addition, state test scores of the students in the project exceeded the district and state
averages, with 74% of the participants passing, whereas the school had a passing rate of
less than 50% in the previous two years.
Over the past six years, the NOAA Climate Stewards funded over 125 educators to imple-
ment stewardship projects with their audiences. The program reaches well over a thou-
sand teachers annually with professional development opportunities, such as monthly
webinars as well as face-to-face and virtual conferences. In FY 2018, the NOAA Climate
Stewards Education Project changed its name to the NOAA Planet Stewards Education
Project. This change represents the expansion of the program’s scope to include a wider
range of NOAA topics related to understanding and protecting our environment, such as
marine debris, natural resources, and severe weather events.
Students in the Lakewood High
School Aquatic Management Systems
and Environmental Technology career
program help students at Bay Point
Elementary School plant marsh grass
in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Chris
Simoniello)
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
14
FEATURED STORY //
Great Lakes elementary students
recycle 68,000 plastic bags, win
Pennsylvania Governor’s Award
Single-use plastic bags are one of the most common items collected during freshwater
and marine cleanups. During the 2016 International Coastal Cleanup, nearly a million plas-
tic bags were collected. As plastic degrades, it aects wildlife health, impairs water quality,
and aects shoreline aesthetics. With help from Pennsylvania Sea Grant, students at
Iroquois Elementary School in Erie, Pennsylvania, developed a recycling program that put
a dent in the plastic bag problem and improved their Lake Erie community.
Iroquois Elementary strives to prepare students for a changing world and promotes re-
sponsible citizenship. Teachers encourage students to engage in projects that can aect
change in their communities. Iroquois Elementary invited Pennsylvania Sea Grant to speak
to students about marine debris and plastics in the environment and specifically, in Lake
Erie. At the time, students were looking into environmental topics around which to devel-
op a community-based project. Pennsylvania Sea Grant educators planted the seed, and
after researching the consequences of plastic bags in the environment, students in fourth
through sixth grade decided to embark on an outreach campaign to improve the recycling
and reuse of plastic bags in their community. Pennsylvania Sea Grant supported their
eorts by providing resources about plastics and water quality.
Students collected data on plastic bag use by
observing and tallying customer use of reusable
bags in a local grocery store. They also sur-
veyed school district teachers to determine the
percentage of teachers who recycle. Students
discovered that the reason for the low rate of
recycling plastic bags in their community was
that, unlike other recyclables, plastic bags are
not collected curbside; they must be taken to
specific drop o locations, such as grocery
stores.
The students launched a plastic bag recycling
program at their school by installing recycling
receptacles for plastic bags. The students
hosted an assembly for the entire school to
introduce the issue and created a competition
between classrooms to recycle the most bags,
with the winners receiving a pizza and ice
cream party.
“The students leading this project made a strong eort to educate their peers and their
community about the importance of plastic bag recycling,” said Sarah Skelton, teacher at
Iroquois Elementary. “As they educated the students in the school, those students educat-
ed their families and neighbors, making this a community eort to recycle plastic bags.” In
just two months, the entire school had recycled over 68,000 plastic bags, which were later
converted into a park bench by the Trex Company, Inc. As a result, Iroquois Elementary
students were awarded the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.
“One of the most inspiring aspects of this project is that it was initiated and implemented
by a group of fourth- through sixth-grade students,” said Skelton. “They inspired change
through education, created awareness, and became a part of the solution.”
Iroquois Elementary School students
won the Pennsylvania Governor’s
Award for the recycling program
they developed with help from
Pennsylvania Sea Grant. (Sarah
Skelton, Iroquois Elementary)
“As they educated
the students in the
school, those students
educated their families
and neighbors, making
this a community eort
to recycle plastic bags.”
- Sarah Skelton, Iroquois
Elementary School
teacher
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
15
FEATURED STORY //
NOAA Fisheries’ Endangered Species
Day Art Contest inspires students in its
seventh year
NOAA Fisheries’ Greater Atlantic Fisheries Oce (GARFO) coordinated its sixth annual
Marine Endangered Species Art Contest in 2017. Endangered Species Day, always the
third Friday in May, highlights plants and animals that face extinction, are endangered, or
are at risk of becoming endangered. The annual celebration provides an opportunity for
people to learn about endangered and threatened species and what we can do to help
them.
GARFO’s Marine Endangered Species Art Contest, initiated in
2012, raises awareness of protected marine species, including
fish, marine mammals, and sea turtles in the Greater Atlantic
area from Maine to Virginia, as well as awareness of the Endan-
gered Species Act itself. Student submissions highlight one or
more endangered or threatened, ocean-dwelling species in the
Greater Atlantic area. The art projects increase awareness and
understanding of these species and the role of NOAA Fisheries
in their recovery.
What started as a local contest has expanded nationally and
internationally, with an entry from Canada in 2016. In 2017,
GARFO received 202 pieces of artwork from 13 schools, includ-
ing those in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, Texas, and
California, as well as one home-school submission. Since 2012,
over 1,600 students have participated in the contest. NOAA
Fisheries honored this year’s winning students at an award
ceremony on May 25, 2017, held at NOAA Fisheries’ GARFO
facilities in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
The contest has succeeded in raising and maintaining awareness about endangered
species throughout the Greater Atlantic area. Submitted art is displayed for public view-
ing throughout the month of May in a gallery at GARFO, and the winning and honorable
mention entries each year are featured in an online calendar. The winners’ schools receive
printed posters of their students’ artwork, ensuring continued awareness of endangered
species throughout the year. In addition, videos of the awards ceremony and artwork can
be seen on the GARFO
website and Facebook
page. One parent even
asked for a photo of her
child’s submission so
that she could surprise
her daughter with a cake
featuring the artwork!
Continued participation in
GARFO’s Marine Endan-
gered Species Art Contest
will provide more opportu-
nities for youth and adults
to understand conserva-
tion policies and engage in
stewardship actions.
NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Endangered
Species Art Contest winner, ninth
grade: Shortnose Sturgeon, by
Isabel O.
NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Endangered
Species Art Contest winner, first
grade: Turtle, by Maia U.
16
Safety & Preparedness
Individuals and communities are informed and actively involved in decisions and actions that
improve preparedness, response, and resilience to challenges and impacts of hazardous weather,
changes in climate, and other environmental threats monitored by NOAA.
OVERVIEW //
NOAA is committed to building a nation that is resilient to environmental hazards. Our
agency provides sound environmental science to protect lives and support a strong
economy. Hazards come in many forms; therefore, so do the ways we communicate
about them. Public awareness is a crucial aspect of safety and preparedness, so educa-
tion is an important component of any comprehensive resilience eort.
GOAL 3
OBJECTIVES
3.1. Youth and adults from all backgrounds are aware of, prepare for, and appropriately
respond to environmental hazards that impact health, safety, and the economy in their
communities.
3.2. Formal and informal educators use and produce education materials and pro-
grams that integrate and promote consistent science-based messaging on hazards,
impacts, and societal challenges related to water, weather, and climate.
3.3. Formal and informal education institutions integrate water, weather, and climate
hazard awareness, preparedness, and response information into curricula, exhibits,
and programs that create learning opportunities for youth and adults.
Eric Workman
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
17
FEATURED STORY //
Phoenix-area residents learn the
science behind resilience to extreme
heat and drought
In the southwest United States, drought and heat are commonplace. However, the sever-
ity and frequency of both have been increasing, underscoring the need for communities
to adapt to these conditions. But how will communities prepare for future extremes? With
support from NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program, Arizona State University has been
raising awareness and finding solutions through public forums that put community mem-
bers in the roles of decision makers.
NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program builds on NOAA’s understanding of extreme
weather and other environmental hazards and helps Arizona’s communities and others
around the nation build the environmental literacy necessary to become more resilient
to the hazards that they face. Arizona State University’s Consortium for Science, Policy
and Outcomes (CSPO), one of the program’s Environmental Literacy Grant award recipi-
ents, created “Science Center Public Forums” around four major environmental hazards:
extreme heat, drought, extreme precipitation, and sea level rise. A recent public forum,
hosted by the Arizona Science Center, brought a group of Phoenix-area residents together
to discuss community resilience strategies to address some of these hazards.
Participants learned about the hazards by using
NOAA’s products focused on heat and drought.
Then, they worked through a variety of scenarios
and “role played” as dierent stakeholders in fiction-
al towns to build understanding of dierent perspec-
tives that should be considered for possible resil-
ience strategies. “The goal is to create replicable
capacities at science museums in cities across the
U.S. to help citizens, planners and experts to openly
discuss science-informed solutions,” explained Mah-
mud Farooque, Associate Director at the CSPO.
Phoenix’s diverse communities were represented by
sixty participants, selected from over 300 applicants.
At the event’s conclusion, participants made rec-
ommendations for increasing community resilience
to extreme heat and drought. These recommenda-
tions will be shared with state and local government
ocials and other stakeholders. During the forum,
participants had the opportunity to hear about their city’s resiliency from Mark Hartman,
Phoenix’s Chief Sustainability Ocer, and to share with him their thoughts on Phoenix’s
plans.
The forum increased participants’ understanding and interest in these issues. Pre- and
post-forum surveys showed that the number of participants who strongly agreed with the
statement, “it is important for my local community to develop and implement a resilience
plan,” increased from 42% to 84%. Similarly, the percentage of participants who reported
that they knew “a lot about the climate-related hazards that could aect their local commu-
nity” increased from 18% to 65%.
This event exemplifies eorts to build resilience through education that are underway in 13
projects throughout the nation, supported by NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program. To
date, these projects have served more than 90 communities in 24 states.
Arizona State University, an
Environmental Literacy Program
grantee, engages Phoenix, Arizona,
residents in a public forum exploring
how communities might adapt to
extreme heat and drought. (Arizona
State University)
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
18
FEATURED STORY //
Severe weather meteorology simulation
puts people in ‘The HotSeat’
What’s it like to make high pressure warning decisions?
When the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning, people in homes and busi-
ness may have only minutes to seek shelter. But what goes on behind the scenes during
these life-and-death decisions? Now participants can find out for themselves in a simulated
severe weather forecast scenario.
HotSeat is a science-based, personal
computer simulator that gives the gen-
eral public, educators, and students
an appreciation of the meteorology
of severe weather events and the de-
cision-making processes that go into
warnings at NOAA’s National Weather
Service oces. The software was
originally developed at the Weather
Forecast Oce in Peachtree City,
Georgia, with continued development
at NOAA’s National Severe Storms
Laboratory. HotSeat uses archived
Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR-
88D) data, severe weather reports,
and pictures of damage caused by
actual storms in a displaced, real-time
mode to capture the experience of
issuing severe weather warnings in
the National Weather Service. Upon
completion of each event, the partic-
ipant receives a score indicating his
or her success in the simulation. Each
simulation runs approximately 20 minutes.
The HotSeat simulator was first shared in 2006 at an
American Meteorology Society WeatherFest in Atlanta,
Georgia, and has been showcased at numerous other
events across the United States. The National Severe
Storms Laboratory made the program available online
in 2017; since then, more than 1,800 visitors have tried
it out. The use of the simulator in classroom settings
can complement teachers’ weather units in science and
may inspire future scientists. HotSeat can also be used
to train emergency managers and other key ocials.
The National Weather Service hopes that HotSeat
participants will become better users of severe weather
warnings when they understand the process behind the
forecast. Feedback from participants has been over-
whelmingly positive. Many cannot believe how stressful
the decision-making process is and how much informa-
tion is presented in such a short period of time. All infor-
mation has to be processed rapidly to make life-saving
decisions!
WeatherFest participants test their
skills at issuing severe weather
warnings. (Lans Rothfusz, National
Severe Storms Laboratory)
HotSeat uses archived Weather
Surveillance Radar (WSR-88D) data to
simulate a forecast scenario. (NOAA)
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
19
FEATURED STORY //
Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador
Care Model strengthens education
Minnesota is known for harsh winters, filled with snow storms and below-zero tempera-
tures. When the snow melts and the ground thaws, dangerous thunderstorms can bring
flooding, hail, and tornadoes. As a result, National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists
in Minnesota’s Twin Cities need all the help they can get in spreading the word about
weather safety. To meet this need, the Twin Cities Weather Forecast Oce (WFO) devel-
oped a creative way of connecting with their partners through the Weather-Ready Nation
Ambassadors (WRN) initiative. Their approach has been so successful that it is now being
replicated in forecast oces across the country.
The NWS works with partner organizations through the Weather-Ready Nation Ambassa-
dor initiative. Through this program, organizations like schools, community organizations,
government agencies, hospitals, the me-
dia, and a wide variety of private business-
es get resources from the NWS and play
a role in keeping their communities safe.
As its ambassador program flourished and
expanded, the Twin Cities oce saw a
growing need to diversify communication
and education strategies. Sta in the Twin
Cities WFO conducted needs assessments
and listened to their ambassadors. The
Ambassador Care Model (ACM) emerged
out of their desire to enhance WRN Am-
bassador communication and education,
revolutionizing their ability to connect with
new ambassadors and strengthen relation-
ships with existing ones.
The ACM outlines how to interact with
WRN Ambassadors and is a ground-break-
ing way to provide service in today’s NWS.
Instead of communicating about weather
hazards on a case-by-case basis, the NWS Twin Cities oce now works with WRN Ambas-
sadors year-round to empower them to become champions of weather safety and weather
preparedness information. The Twin Cities oce opened the line of communication to
all their ambassadors, listened to their questions about weather preparedness, and gave
them the tools they needed to get their employees, students, or clients weather-ready.
Using the tools in the ACM, the Twin Cities WFO provides tool to guide eective life and
property decision making. This guidance integrates hazard education with preparation,
communication, and real-time weather information.
After implementing their Ambassador Care Model, the Twin Cities oce saw a sharp rise
in ambassadors sharing NWS safety content on social media and websites. More organi-
zations and private businesses began displaying weather safety posters in their buildings
or sharing weather safety information in publications. WFO sta have also been invited to
outreach events that the oce was unaware of before establishing the ACM.
The Ambassador Care Model has now been distributed to every weather forecast oce
in the nation, allowing individual WFOs to build long-term relationships with their ambas-
sadors and to provide richer and more integrated community education experiences. With
nearly 6,500 ambassadors and over 2,800 new ambassadors enrolled over the last year,
the initiative has grown significantly.
Instead of creating a traditional
gift basket for their annual holiday
auction, these second-graders
decided to prepare a weather-ready
kit. (Michael Lewis, National Weather
Service)
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
20
FEATURED STORY //
Resilience planners and climate
educators put their heads together to
keep communities safe
Cities, counties, and states are leading local responses to climate change and extreme
weather. The need to act is increasingly urgent; in 2017, the United States experienced 16
separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters. Communities are on the front line in
dealing with climate impacts, and this challenge allows them to innovate and experiment
with sustainable and resilient living. Currently, 18 states are using resilience and adaptation
plans to prepare their communities for future environmental conditions. Additionally, cities
and regions all around the country are tackling the same issues at the local level. In 2017,
NOAA participated in two meetings that brought educators together with leaders of com-
munities that seek to meet climate goals.
The Climate Education and Opportunities Collective Impact Summit was held in Septem-
ber 2017 in Sundance, Utah. City and county leaders from across the country met with
climate change education professionals, including NOAA’s Climate Program Oce, to
explore how education can help communities meet their climate and resilience goals. Rep-
resentatives from cities that are already experiencing the impacts of a changing climate
shared their needs. Climate educators helped connect them to existing resources and best
practices gleaned from a decade of climate education initiatives. Together, participants
brainstormed about next steps. The community leaders and colleagues from the climate
education community explored results from federal and philanthropic initiatives and
concluded that these initiatives are key to supporting their communities’ climate actions
through eective education.
These findings were echoed at a separate workshop that NOAA hosted in September
2017. NOAA’s Oce of Education held the Environmental Literacy Program Resilience
Education Grantee Workshop at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts. These
grantees are using education to support community resil-
ience to extreme weather events and other environmental
hazards. NOAA supported projects that integrated city-
and state-level resilience plans into their education eorts
and collaborated with organizations involved in implement-
ing those plans. A panel of city and state planners ex-
plained why they need an informed community to support
their eorts. With 13 grantees at various stages of imple-
menting their projects and testing dierent approaches to
demonstrating how education can support resilience goals,
the workshop provided a venue to explore challenges,
opportunities, and best practices for this emerging field.
Grantees began to build a community of practice, sharing
what they are learning, how they are working with their
local city planners, and how they are integrating resilience
and climate adaptation plans.
Both workshops paved the way for increased collaboration among NOAA’s education part-
ners and grantees to better support cities and states in their resilience eorts. NOAA will
continue to foster relationships with and among its partners to strengthen the collabora-
tors’ and grantees’ work on climate and resilience education. At these workshops, partic-
ipants concluded that education partnerships can support climate actions in communities
while also preparing the new workforce and equipping citizens, professionals, and other
influential leaders with the scientific foundation necessary to make informed decisions.
City leaders and climate educators
discuss how education can support
communities’ climate actions over
the coming decades at the Climate
Education and Opportunities
Collective Impact Summit. (Frank
Niepold, NOAA)
21
Future Workforce
A diverse and highly skilled future workforce pursues careers in disciplines that support NOAA’s
mission.
OVERVIEW //
Building and supporting a diverse and skilled future STEM workforce is critical. NOAA
relies on a sustainable workforce pipeline that ranges from introducing young students
to NOAA careers to preparing graduate students to be successful in the workforce.
Stories in this section demonstrate how NOAA programs are inspiring and cultivating the
next generation of scientists that resemble our diverse nation.
GOAL 4
OBJECTIVES
4.1. Students, particularly from underrepresented groups, consider education and career path-
ways in disciplines that support NOAA’s mission.
4.2. NOAA and partner institutions leverage federally funded assets to provide students, par-
ticularly those from underrepresented groups, with experiential learning, research, and schol-
arship opportunities.
4.3. Postsecondary students, particularly from underrepresented groups, pursue and com-
plete degrees in disciplines critical to NOAA’s mission.
4.4. Graduates completing NOAA-supported student opportunities continue education, enter
the workforce, and advance in careers that support NOAA’s mission.
Tanya Rogers, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Internship Program
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
22
FEATURED STORY //
NOAA Boulder hosts Tribal Colleges
and Universities Science Day
In the cultures and traditions of many indigenous peoples around the world, humans are
deeply connected with nature. Because of this intimate relationship, Native groups are rec-
ognized as vital stewards of our environment. Tribal Colleges and Universities foster this
indigenous knowledge, and NOAA is embracing their role as valuable partners in environ-
mental research and management. In addition to serving as a bridge between indigenous
knowledge and NOAA science, Tribal Colleges and Universities are resources for achiev-
ing a diverse and talented work-
force at NOAA.
On September 20, 2017, the NOAA
oce in Boulder, Colorado, host-
ed a Tribal Colleges and Universi-
ties Science Day in coordination
with the 40th American Indian
Science and Engineering Society
annual conference held in Den-
ver. The event brought together
students from six Tribal Colleges
and Universities: Fond du Lac
in Wisconsin, Haskell in Kansas,
Leech Lake in Minnesota, North-
west Indian College in Washington,
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish in North
Dakota, and Sinte Gleska in South
Dakota.
Students toured the NOAA facility
and met with senior scientists to learn about NOAA science relating to extreme weather
and the impacts of wildfires on climate. They also learned about student opportunities at
NOAA, such as the Educational Partnership Program with Minority-Serving Institutions and
NOAA Hollings Scholarship. In turn, NOAA learned about issues that need to be consid-
ered when developing long-term plans for recruiting and retaining tribal college students
in NOAA careers. The students’ barriers include cultural issues, such as leaving their home
and community for a 10-week internship, and concerns about how students from lower-in-
come universities might measure up to other applicants.
Immediate feedback on the whole day was
positive. Thayne Yazzie of the Northwest
Indian College said, “Thank you so much
for the wonderful opportunity to join in the
NOAA Tribal Science Day! I had an absolute
blast and look forward to future opportu-
nities as well as integrating more students
and tribal youth into your programs.” Overall,
NOAA hosts and their guests from Tribal Col-
leges and Universities alike came away with
knowledge and connections as they joined
forces to bring indigenous backgrounds and
knowledge to bear on the environmental
problems we all share.
The NOAA oce in Boulder,
Colorado, hosted a Tribal Colleges
and Universities Science Day in
coordination with the 40th annual
American Indian Science and
Engineering Society conference.
(NOAA)
James Rattling Leaf speaks at NOAA
Tribal College and Universities
Science Day in Boulder, Colorado.
(NOAA)
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
23
FEATURED STORY //
NOAA scholars are making waves in
the private sector
Over the past 12 years, the NOAA Hollings and Educational Partnership Program with
Minority-Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) undergraduate scholarships have supported over
1,300 students studying in STEM fields, social science, and education. The scholarships
provide students with two years of financial support and valuable research experiences
that may not otherwise be available at the undergraduate level. NOAA scholars spend 10
weeks in their summer internships gaining hands-on research and technological expe-
rience at NOAA labs and facilities. Nearly half of the alumni in the workforce are putting
their skills to use in the private sector, working as environmental consultants, meteorolo-
gists, engineers, hydrologists, and more.
Many NOAA scholarship alumni are using their skills in the environ-
mental consulting industry. Dr. Kersey Sturdivant, a 2005 EPP/MSI
undergraduate scholarship alum and professor at Duke University
in North Carolina, helped start a small business based on sediment
profiling technology he worked on as a graduate student. His com-
pany, INSPIRE Environmental, performs rapid marine environmental
assessments of the sea floor. He has worked with clients on o-
shore wind and energy habitat assessments as well as monitoring
the recovery of deep sea habitats after the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill.
Kersey said that the mentorship he received during his NOAA
scholarship experience was invaluable. Now he mentors students
and advises that many science careers oer rewarding work, in-
cluding opportunities in the private sector. In addition, scholarship
alumni have built careers with environmental consulting firms such
as AECOM, Closed Loop Advisors, and Environmental Resources
Management.
Several NOAA scholarship alumni work as meteorologists in the
private sector, including Abby Dyer, an on-air meteorologist for the
local NBC/ABC aliated television station in Missouri, KY3. As a
2009 Hollings Scholar, Abby created a program for Science On a
Sphere® entitled, “Vog [smog or haze containing volcanic dust and
gases] on the Island of Hawaii,” during her internship at the Imiloa
Astronomy Center of Hawaii. She analyzed data from the Mauna
Kea Observatory and local weather forecast oce and created
visuals to represent the data. In addition, she utilized her communi-
cation skills to write and record the script. The experience inspired
her to pursue a broadcast career.
Today, Abby’s forecast reaches 42 counties in Missouri and Ar-
kansas. Her job is to forecast the weather daily for her viewing
area and eectively communicate watches and warnings issued by the region’s National
Weather Service forecast oces. Abby mentors an intern every summer, and future me-
teorologists often shadow her on the job. She tells the students about the opportunities
oered by NOAA undergraduate scholarships. Other NOAA scholarship alumni are putting
their meteorology skills to work at companies including CNN International, Zurich, Weather
Decision Technologies Inc., and Risk Management Solutions.
Both private and public sector organizations play critical roles in providing environmental
information. NOAA undergraduate scholars develop transferable skills that set them up for
success in any sector.
Hollings Scholarship alumna Abigail
Dyer is a storm team meteorologist
with NBC/ABC-aliated television
station KY3 in Missouri. (Abigail Dyer)
Dr. Kersey Sturdivant, an EPP/MSI
alumnus, conducts an environmental
assessment for the Block Island Wind
Farm. (Kersey Sturdivant)
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
24
FEATURED STORY //
NOAA Satellite Conference launches
careers for remote sensing experts
From detecting greenhouse gases to tracking harmful algal blooms and even monitoring
natural resources, satellite technology allows NOAA to observe changes to Earth’s surface
and atmosphere. The National Research Council emphasized the importance of highly
trained remote sensing technical sta for interpreting and translating these complex data
for use by the public and private sectors. If the United States is to remain on the forefront
of this technology, it is critical to train our next
generation in remote sensing technology.
Conferences provide a unique opportunity
for students, novice researchers, experts,
and product developers to build relation-
ships, present and learn about new ideas,
and solve problems. However, there are a
limited number of conferences that focus on
remote sensing and even fewer that allow for
specialized training for users at all levels on
cutting-edge satellite data. The 2017 NOAA
Satellite Conference was able to fill this gap.
The 2017 Conference focused on the theme,
“A New Era of NOAA’s Environmental Satel-
lites.” It was sponsored by NOAA’s Satellite
and Information Service and hosted by the
NOAA Center for Earth System Sciences and
Remote Sensing Technologies (CREST) at the
City College of New York. In keeping with the
theme, conference sessions focused on edu-
cating students and professionals about the
capabilities of NOAA’s new satellite systems
that will launch or become operational in the near future, including the next-generation
geostationary satellites known as the GOES series and JPSS-1, the first of NOAA’s new
polar-orbiters.
More than 390 participants from 40 countries attended the conference, including 220
students and young professionals. The main conference was held from July 17-20, 2017,
preceded by a two-day workshop with more than 90 participants. CREST, in partnership
with other institutions across the nation, is funded by NOAA’s Educational Partnership
Program with Minority-Serving Institutions and focuses on recruiting and retaining stu-
dents from underrepresented groups. At the conference, students showcased the results
of their collaborative research projects through posters and oral presentations. Organizers
held training sessions geared toward students and introductory users on GOES and JPSS.
The organizers sponsored a career fair during the conference, where students were able
to gain career insights and potential job leads. Students were also matched with NOAA
employees to gain one-on-one experience through mock interviews.
The conference engaged students from NOAA Cooperative Science Centers and City
University of New York campuses, a diverse population that includes significant number
of students from underrepresented minority communities. This conference provided the
students and faculty an out-of-the-classroom educational and professional experience.
The use of SLI.do, a tool designed to foster audience interaction, and social media helped
conference organizers gain valuable insights and feedback from the participants. Twen-
ty-seven percent of participants found the conference “relevant” to their jobs and 59%
found it “very relevant.”
Students and young professionals
network with renowned scientists
and experts from across the globe
at the NOAA Satellite Conference.
(NOAA)
25
Organizational Excellence
NOAA functions in a unified manner to support, plan, and deliver eective educational programs
and partnerships that advance NOAA’s mission.
OVERVIEW //
NOAA has over 12,000 employees and a mission that spans from the surface of the sun
to the ocean floor. Like other large organizations, we face the challenge of coordinat-
ing and communicating to help everyone stay on the same page. NOAA Education has
made progress toward breaking down organizational silos, both within and across pro-
grams. The goal of organizational excellence drives us to enhance and measure perfor-
mance to provide the best service to the public.
GOAL 5
OBJECTIVES
5.1. Leaders internal and external to NOAA recognize and support education investments as a
way to achieve agency mandates, mission, and goals.
5.2. The NOAA Education community develops implementation plans and establishes agency
education priorities informed by stakeholder needs and national initiatives.
5.3. NOAA educators and partners collaborate at local, regional, and national levels to coordi-
nate eorts, build capacity, and better serve educational audiences.
5.4. NOAA and partner organizations use eective evaluation, performance monitoring, and
evidence-based approaches in the design and management of educational programs, prod-
ucts, and services.
5.5. NOAA develops and supports a coordinated portfolio of products, programs, and partner-
ships that improves education opportunities in NOAA-related content areas for underserved
audiences.
NOAA
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
26
GOAL HIGHLIGHTS //
Update on the FY 2016-2017
Implementation Plan
The NOAA Education Council developed a two-year implemen-
tation plan in 2016, which documented the steps we took to
expand and improve our current set of programs. Here are some
highlights from the Education Council working groups.
⊲ The Implementation Plan outlined 29 high-priority actions, including the eorts of in-
dividual programs as well as collaborative working groups that involve educators from
across NOAA. We completed 28 out of the 29 actions (a 96% success rate). For more
information, see our full accomplishments report.
⊲ The Diversity and Professional Advancement Working Group (DPAWG) identified at
least one champion from each line oce to facilitate and support strategies to better
prepare candidates for advancement, connect more eectively with other line oces,
and encourage underrepresented groups to pursue leadership positions. The working
group also increased membership from 17 members in 2014 to 36 in 2017 and expand-
ed their membership to include social scientists and clerical and administrative per-
sonnel. In addition, the DPAWG developed and approved an ocial charter along with
three supporting committees focusing on recruitment, retention, and advancement.
⊲ The Education Council Underserved Audiences Working Group conducted an inven-
tory of education programs at NOAA that target underserved groups. The working
group received survey responses from 44 programs and conducted nine case studies.
The working group is currently developing a report to summarize their findings. This
information helps articulate how education supports NOAA’s goals of diversity, inclu-
sion, and reaching audiences from diverse backgrounds.
⊲ The Products, Programs, Development, and Delivery Working Group (P2D2) devel-
oped an instructional resources review tool that can be used to determine how well
NOAA and NOAA-partner resources fit three-dimensional learning, which includes
Next Generation Science Standards. P2D2, in partnership with the Internal Profession-
al Development Working Group, completed a needs assessment with NOAA educators
to determine the needs for three-dimensional learning training and oered an intro-
ductory webinar and two-day workshop. Through these activities, the NOAA Education
community is better able to create products that meet the needs of educators.
⊲ The Internal Professional Development Working Group developed seven informa-
tional webinars to give an overview of NOAA Education. These webinars are easily ac-
cessible as a new resource collection on the NOAA Education website. The site was
viewed 215 times, each video averaging 30 views, between February and October of
2017. This resource promotes better cross-agency coordination while demonstrating
the connection between NOAA Education and the agency mission.
⊲ While NOAA Education serves the entire nation, most education happens at state and
local levels. The Regional Collaboration Working Group has coordinated three re-
gional NOAA educator networks (Chesapeake Bay, Pacific Islands, and Alaska/Pacific
Northwest). They identified regional priorities and are working to establish a new net-
work in the Great Lakes. The working group created a self-assessment questionnaire,
completed by each of the four pilot networks, and used the results of the question-
naire to document best practices, common strategies, and unique approaches in each
network. By connecting NOAA educators and partners on the regional level, each can
better meet the unique needs of the people they serve.
1.
Science-Informed
Society
2.
Conservation &
Stewardship
3.
Safety & Preparedness
4.
Future Workforce
5.
Organizational
Excellence
27
FEATURED STORY //
Promoting conservation and
stewardship to diverse audiences
through national marine sanctuaries
First-generation and low-income students are at major disadvantages when it comes to
experiencing the outdoors and pursuing ocean conservation careers. The NOAA Oce of
National Marine Sanctuaries is working to make America’s underwater treasures acces-
sible to youth of all backgrounds. These learning opportunities encourage individuals and
communities to be involved in stewardship behaviors and decisions that conserve, restore,
and protect our underwater parks. They also prepare a diverse range of students for the
workforce.
The Ocean Guardian School Program gives students from disadvan-
taged backgrounds opportunities to learn about the ocean, marine
science careers, and stewardship. Starting in 2016, the program began
targeting Title I schools to apply and receive funding by building
capacity within the school community. Students learn new skills to
implement a local stewardship project, giving them ownership of their
community environment. This past school year, there were 35 Ocean
Guardian Schools, 12 from low-income areas, reaching 6,689 students.
To reach other diverse communities, NOAA sanctuaries provided
diversity and inclusion funding for new programs. Through this funding
opportunity, more than 100 dierent activities targeted underserved
audiences, reaching 2,942 K-12 students, teachers, and interested par-
ties in Monterey Bay, Greater Farallones, Channel Islands, and Stell-
wagen Bank National Marine Sanctuaries. In Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary,
this funding supported a new program titled “Whale Ambassador—Every Kid in a Park.”
Stellwagen Bank education sta connected with a Title I school in Boston, Massachusetts,
for a three-week program that included a visit by the sanctuary’s life-size inflatable whale,
a trip to the New England Aquarium, and whale watching in the sanctuary. Sta also collab-
orated with the Hispanic Access Foundation and worked with the Dominican community in
Lawrence, Massachusetts, and a Title I school summer program to raise awareness about
the ocean, whales, and NOAA careers, culminating in a whale watch during Latino Conser-
vation Week. Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary sta focused on bringing Title
I schools in the San Francisco Bay area hands-on ocean science experiences. The pro-
grams varied by age and taught topics ranging from good seashore manners to changing
ocean chemistry.
In addition, many programs incorporate traditional knowledge. For instance, at the Moku-
papapa Discovery Center located in Hilo, Hawaii, the Navigating Change Program, an ed-
ucation and environmental stewardship program that incorporates traditional knowledge
with western science to inspire the next generation of conservation leaders, worked with
almost 1,682 Native Hawaiian students.
At the graduate level, the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program builds connections be-
tween underrepresented students and the ocean by recognizing outstanding scholarship
and encouraging research, particularly by female and minority students. Recent changes
to this scholarship program have helped ensure that underrepresented graduate students
with the greatest financial need have a better chance of ranking higher in the application
process.
Through these programs, sanctuaries are reaching new audiences and supporting com-
munities from all backgrounds. In FY 2017, the National Marine Sanctuary System reached
22,903 underserved youth.
Elementary school students from
an Ocean Guardian School in Santa
Barbara, California, participate in a
kayaking adventure. (Claire Fackler,
Oce of National Marine Sanctuaries)
28
Council Chair
Louisa Koch
Council Vice Chair
Christos Michalopoulos
Bay Watershed Education and Training Program
(B-WET)
Jim Foley, Bronwen Rice
Climate Program Oce
Frank Niepold
National Marine Fisheries Service
Kate Naughten, Lisa Hiruki-Raring
National Ocean Service
Peg Steen, Bruce Moravchik
National Sea Grant College Program
Jon Lilley, Lisa Lawrence
National Weather Service (NWS)
Mary Fairbanks
NOAA Satellite and Information Service
Kat Hawley, Dan Pisut
NOAA Teacher at Sea Program
Jennifer Hammond
NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologists
Faith Borden, Kerry Jones
Oce for Coastal Management
Atziri Ibanez, Nancy Cofer-Shabica
Oce of Education – Higher Education
Marlene Kaplan, Kristen Jabanoski
Oce of Education – K-12 and Informal
Education
Christos Michalopoulos, Sarah Schoedinger
Oce of National Marine Sanctuaries
Tracy Hajduk, Seaberry Nachbar
Oce of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
Rochelle Plutchak, Eric Hackathorn
Oce of Ocean Exploration and Research
Susan Haynes, Debi Blaney
Special thanks
The NOAA Education community would like to thank the NOAA oces, programs, employees, partners, and grantees for
their work. Accomplishments were submitted on behalf of NOAA education programs by members of the NOAA Education
Council. We are especially grateful to Dayna Rignanese and Matt McIntosh with the Oce of National Marine Sanctuaries
for designing the graphics on pages 5–6. Thank you also to the many people who contributed images for this report.
In addition, many members of the education community contributed to writing these stories. We would like to extend a
special thank you to the following people: Claire Fackler, Carrie McDougall, Emily Susko, John McLaughlin, Kelly Donaldson,
Renata Lana, Shakila Merchant, Virginia Guhin, and all of the other NOAA sta and partners who worked to make these ef-
forts happen. The document was designed and edited by Andrea Sassard, Christopher Nelson, Jessica Cooper, John Baek,
Lauren Gibson, Maggie Allen, and Marissa Jones.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NOAA Education Council
The NOAA Education Council represents and coordinates education eorts across the
agency. The following member programs provided materials for this report to highlight
breadth of NOAA Education.
29
WWW.NOAA.GOV/EDUCATION
