• Join us on Monday, January 18th at 8 pm ET to discuss 
       Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller. The author will join us!

Blackfish City is a young-adult fiction book. This is a great opportunity for students to read and join in the discussion with the author, too. Mark your calendar for Monday, January 18!

Find the entire book schedule for 2021 here with information on how to join each meeting. 

Do it now! Let us know what you want to see in future issues of The Watch! for 2021! We appreciate you taking a few minutes to help us help you.  Find and complete the survey here.

Puerto Rico is home to vibrant coral reef ecosystems that supports a diversity of marine life and livelihoods. Join us as we share our journey in creating Spanish-language videos (with English subtitles) about ocean acidification, its causes, consequences, research and possible solutions for the Puerto Rican public and island visitors. A full length and short video (highlighting key messages) were created with NOAA and non-NOAA partners, and produced by a local videographer. View the full video on the producer’s YouTube channel prior to the live webinar. This live event is brought to you by the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program. Register here.

Ocean waters on the Northeast U. S. continental shelf have warmed rapidly and climate models project this warming to continue. Fishing communities face declines in traditionally-fished species. The local impacts of these changes depend on the nature and rate of ecosystem change, patterns of dependence on marine resources, and adaptation capacity and choices. Hear how climate projections are being used to drive species models and assess social-ecological vulnerabilities to climate-related species changes. This information provides a foundation for climate adaptation planning at community and regional scales, and provides insights into policy and institutional needs to support the resilience of fishing communities.

NOAA recognizes the deterioration of global coral reef ecosystems and is committed to intervening to mitigate these impacts where it has the authority to act, support, and promote the restoration of reefs worldwide. NOAA recently commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to review its coral interventions. The reviews helped NOAA to develop a high-level plan of action to guide how the agency approaches coral interventions in the future.

Hey teachers! You’ve faced tremendous challenges due to the pandemic, now it’s time for you to have a terrific experience learning more about Weather and Physical Oceanography! Do you need new ideas for using data and hands on experiments in your classroom?

The American Meteorological Society 2021 summer courses, Project Ocean and Project Atmosphere, are accepting applications through 26 March. These competitive professional development courses are open to K-12 teachers and include online and in-person components and field experiences. All travel expenses are covered and participants receive stipends and earn graduate credit upon successful completion of the courses. Don’t miss this chance to learn from the experts, connect with other outstanding teachers, and have the earth science experience of a lifetime!  https://www.ametsoc.org/…/…/education-program/k-12-teachers/

Jump into the Climate Generation's Teach Climate Network Hub, an online platform for educators to connect and learn! You will gain access to other educators in the Network, experts in a variety of fields related to climate change education, resources, and the recordings of our fall workshop series. The Teach Climate Network Hub is open to any and all educators! Sign up for the Network to get your unique username and password and start exploring!

Join the Teach Climate Network Hub also to participate in our “Ask the Expert!” Program! But who is an "expert?" Find out here!

This webinar series will focus on the 2021 NOSB competition theme of "PLUNGING INTO OUR POLAR SEAS." The purpose of the series is to provide teachers, and other interested individuals, with the opportunity to enhance their awareness and understanding of topics such as, but not limited to: the vital role the poles play in regulating climate; thermohaline circulation and deep-ocean currents; increasing levels of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; sea ice cover; permafrost; ocean warming; and unique polar marine life. More information about the theme is available on the NOSB website. Access the webinarr at 4pm ET here.

Meeting standards and expectations for science has only been made more challenging with the universal shift to remote and hybrid learning this year. Lead with Students First; Focus on Phenomena; Encourage Student Sense making; Bolster Student Agency; and Implement Formative Assessments. See how the all-new Discovery Education Science "Techbook" can help educators deliver 3D instruction in person or at a distance. Get Started

Global food waste is a far-reaching problem. Approximately 1.3 billion tons of food each year are wasted globally — that’s one-third of all food produced. In the United States alone, about 40% of food goes to waste annually. We need to start thinking about new and innovative approaches to address food waste and loss.  

EARTHDAY‍.ORG invites you to join another installment of our Earth Day Live series: We Throw It All Away, Food Waste and Loss, Responsible Practices on Thursday, January 14th at noon ET.  Join the live event for a discussion with a panel of experts who will talk about how food waste is caused, comprehensive strategies to address this issue and sustainable solutions. Join the live event here.

The American Museum of Natural History has produced a series of teaching cases that use videos, age-appropriate readings, and data analysis tools to help students contextualize and draw conclusions from large sets of scientific data. In this session, look at a teaching case that tells the story of NASA's GRACE satellites with a focus on the effects of climate change on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

The webinar is free, but registration is required. Please visit this link for webinar registration: https://nagt.org/nagt/profdev/workshops/ngss_summit/jan142021/index.html

Different types of marine debris have been documented to impact every level of biological organization, and many uncertainties about impact remain. This webinar synthesizes recommendations for protected area managers seeking to reduce marine debris. The recommendations are based upon review of research, case studies, and experience from government, academia, and non-profits. This webinar will also provide some suggested actions and current examples from protected areas addressing marine debris in the US and beyond. Register here.

How do you express yourself through your lesson plans? Whether you enjoy mapping techniques, data collection, or public service, there are many opportunities for you to continue sharing your passions with your students in the new year. Register today for National Geographic's free, professional learning courses! Explore them and sign up here.

Hurry! Many professional learning courses begin January 20th!

Are you interested in exploring what strategies can help the world address climate change? Explore the impact of various strategies including reducing the use of coal, oil, and gas for energy and others using the En-ROADS decision support model. You will also explore the co-benefits and equity considerations of the various strategies and discuss & test  what suite of worldwide actions can help limit the increase of temperature to no more than 2 degrees C by 2100. Register here!

Join CIRES E&O to learn more about the Community Action and Problem Solving Process developed by Earth Force In this half-day workshop, A six-step model will be introduced that combines civic engagement, environmental education, and STEM to empower youth to make changes to environmental policy, increase community resilience to climate change, and develop civic leadership skills. Learn how the process can be used to compliment CIRES curriculum and programs, as well as how it can be used in a traditional science classroom. Learn more and register here.

Join Force Blue and partners on January 21, 2021 from 11:00AM - 3:00PM ET for 4Hope, a virtual event celebrating Florida's Coral Reef and efforts to conserve it. The 4HOPE Online Event features presentations and panel discussions with acclaimed individuals. You can register here for the event.

Four segments will occur:

Segment 1: Preservation Policy – NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program & Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Segment 2: Restoration Science – University of Miami Rosenstiel School, Rescue a Reef Program, Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science, & The Florida Aquarium

Segment 3: Partnership on Point – FORCE BLUE, NFL Green, Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee, and Tervis.

Segment 4: One Team. One Fight. – Live Panel Discussion

As schools around the country struggle with uncertainty, many states continue their efforts to implement three-dimensional science standards, a difficult process under the best of conditions. At this edLeader Panel, leading educators, including Tricia Shelton, NSTA Director of Professional Learning and Standards Implementation, will discuss how educators can highlight the value of science education and continue implementing next-generation standards while meeting the challenges brought by COVID-19. Learn more and register here.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Environmental Education is accepting applications for the 2021 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. This award recognizes outstanding K-12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education. Up to two teachers from each of EPA's 10 regions will be selected to receive this award. Winners will receive a plaque and an award of up to $2,500 to be used to further the recipient's professional development. Awardees’ local education agencies also receive an award of up to $2,500 to fund environmental educational activities and programs. Application deadline: Feb. 19, 2021.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s President’s Environmental Youth Award recognizes outstanding environmental projects by students in grades K-12. Submissions may include projects developed by individuals, school classes, summer camps, public-interest groups and youth organizations. Winning projects have included activities such as creating videos, skits and newsletters about environmental issues, recycling in schools and communities, restoring native habitats and planting trees. Deadlline February 19. Apply here.

There is a new Old Weather project now available on the Zooniverse. The aim of this project is to recover hidden marine weather data recorded in U.S. Navy ships’ logbooks during World War II, and they need your help – to uncover the source of a mysterious distortion in sea-surface temperature data collected during the war. At the end of this project, the objective is to be able to verify whether or not a warm weather anomaly during the 1940s was real or an artifact.

Visit the Earth Science Week Classroom Activities page for more than 200 free learning activities, most contributed leading geoscience agencies and Earth Science Week partners.

This  resource is ideal not only for supplementing a prepared curriculum, but also for generating activities that address in-the-news events. See Earth Science Week's Classroom Activities.

To increase the awareness of multitude of data being collected in marine reserves monitoring, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife launched a new Marine Reserves Data Dashboard. It provides simple-drop down menus to navigate through ecological monitoring data they have collected over the last 10 years. 

The Education Development Center’s (EDC) Oceans of Data Institute has developed learning modules to study the effects of the Earth’s changing climate on the animals and plants of Maine’s diverse habitats. Targeted for grades five and six, the modules use authentic data from NASA and NOAA to explore climate topics. Each learning module has an overview of module content; a glossary; a series of data-based lessons and accompanying materials; and a summary of student learning outcomes. Find the learning modules here.

The Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) presents more than a dozen high-quality resources and programs supporting remote STEM instruction. You’ll find science and math apps for preschool students as well as learning modules and simulations to deepen middle and high school students’ understanding of important issues. It includes links to tools to help teachers increase student engagement in distance-learning settings. Find the website resources here.