2024 Conference Sessions
Sunday, August 11 | Monday, August 12
Sunday, August 11 • 10:15 – 11:15 AM
Eco-Mathematics Activities to Explore Human Impacts on Our Ocean
Jennifer Thom
Associate Professor, Curriculum & Instruction; University of Victoria
Teaching about marine ecology can strengthen academic skills in core K-12 subject areas. Classroom teachers can also use marine education as a theme to help students appreciate the importance of computation, data analysis and critical thinking in understanding our world and tackling environmental problems. In this hands-on workshop, engage in mathematical modeling, lively simulations and collaborative group work that explore human impacts on our ocean, including overfishing, sea level rise, pollution and resource extraction. At the same time, experience how the activities strengthen skills in statistics, and understanding proportional relationships and mathematical representation.
After a brief introduction, the presenter will facilitate several group activities. These include a visual model of oceanic zones with respect to food supply, an interactive story (including props) on the history of human interactions with ocean ecosystems, and a data-gathering and interpretation exercise on climate change and sea level rise. The activities are appropriate for middle and secondary grades and can be incorporated into programming in formal and informal educational settings. Receive lesson plans and background materials matched to relevant state and provincial content standards for mathematics and science.
Search the Salish Sea! Classroom Connections with Intertidal Animal Ambassadors
Emily Armstrong
Division Coordinator; World Fisheries Trust (Seaquaria Ocean Education Division)
This session will focus on empowering educators to utilize an incredible ecosystem that surrounds us; the intertidal zone! This session will highlight Seaquaria Ocean Education’s classroom and beach programs, with a focus on 6 major animal phyla: Porifera, Cnidaria, Echinodermata, Mollusca, Arthropoda, and Chordata. We will highlight conservation efforts, phyla characteristics, animal adaptations, urban threats to the ecosystem, and more! Join us for nature education illustrations from our students, experiments you can do with your learners, and hands-on interaction with our animal ambassadors!
Reflections on Cultural Stigmas and Unconscious Biases in the Environmental Sector
Stephanie Chong, B.Sc.H, M.M.Ed., CVA
Education Program Lead; Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary
Jeff Sha, B.Sc., MLWS
In this informal discussion, Steph and Jeff will reflect on their experiences in the marine and aquatic profession as two individuals from diaspora communities. They will consider the impact of their upbringing (e.g. cultural and geographic factors) and the paradox of their intersectional marginalized / settler identities while living on unceded territories. Hear about the challenges and opportunities that they continue to experience working in the aquatic sector and how they incorporate their relationship to place, language, culture, and community into their practice. Collaboratively brainstorm some learning opportunities that place inclusivity at its core and hear about a project idea at Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary.
Accountable Spaces:
We recognize that inequality exists everywhere (whether we like it or not) and can include, but are not limited to, ethnic heritage, age, size, class, citizenship, dis/abilities, and gender identity. We also recognize that some of the topics that may be covered may be challenging for both the presenters and the audience. We seek to provide opportunities to uplift marginalized voices in this session and provide meaningful and inclusive opportunities for discussion; we ask that participants extend the same to their peers.
A Dive into our Marine Food Web with Virtual Reality!
Jess Newley
Community Science and Education Director; Friends of the San Juans
Learn how critical habitat like eelgrass and kelp forests along our shorelines of the Salish Sea support forage fish, salmon, orca whales and more. After we will take a virtual dive into the marine food web with virtual reality headsets. Swim through bull kelp with large schools of herring and head up the river with beautiful, bright, spawning salmon. Friends of the San Juans has developed the Immersive Salish Sea Education Program with open access 360 videos online. An exciting and enriching supplement to your own lessons in the classroom or in the field!
Sunday, August 11 • 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
CoastWatch in the Schools: Adopt a Mile as an Outdoor Classroom
Katie Russell
Education and Outreach Manager; Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition
Denise Harrington
Education and Community Science Specialist; Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition
At Oregon Shores, our vision is for a healthy and resilient Oregon coast where all people and nature thrive together. We work to achieve this by engaging, educating, and empowering people to protect and increase the resilience of the coast’s ecosystems, landscapes, and communities. One of our programs is CoastWatch in the Schools, which links classrooms on the coast to a shoreline mile close to their school that they observe and document year after year.
CoastWatch in the Schools coordinates guest educators to be on the beach with teachers and students; provides training for community science projects and uploading data; coordinates with other schools to share CoastWatch Mile findings; and introduces classrooms to scientists and researchers. Schools submit mile reports just like all CoastWatch volunteers.
In this presentation, we will share how our CoastWatch in the Schools program has evolved, our vision for the future, and information about some of the unique events we have created for students on the Oregon coast.
Promoting ocean education at the secondary level – considerations, challenges, and outcomes
Karycia Mitchell
Teacher; Belmont Secondary, SD62
Engaging academic-oriented students in environmental education at the secondary level can be difficult, especially when long-standing educational culture treats environmental and earth science programs as “the easier option” or a way of avoiding the “difficult sciences”. In order to overcome this perspective and spark interest in students who are headed to post-secondary, we developed a program that combines Life Sciences (Biology) 11 with Chemistry 11 as a Marine and Aquatic STEM cohort. In this short presentation, I will address some of our administrative and curricular considerations, challenges ranging from support to resources, and outcomes, including projects and reflections from the students, as well as next steps as the program evolves.
How RESS is building connections for long-term ecosystem resilience
Kendra Nelson
Outreach Coordinator; SeaChange Marine Conservation Society
Explore the importance of fostering connections between communities and conservation work with the Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea project and SeaChange. The Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea (RESS) is a four-year project working to identify and restore estuaries that will provide crucial ecological hotspots as the oceans are altered by climate change. In the project’s second phase, RESS uses a multi-faceted approach to educate and engage community members with estuary ecosystems and conservation work. Through collaborative efforts with municipalities, media outlets, businesses, First Nations, other organizations, and the wider public, we broaden our reach to increase our educational impact. These strategies include educational outreach events, creating and installing informative conservation signage, designing and distributing educational outreach materials, and teaching restoration methods. Our goal is that connecting with communities will encourage informed and responsible stewardship of estuary ecosystems into the future to support long-term resiliency.
Additional Authors: Sarah Cook, Executive Director, SeaChange Marine Conservation Society. Susan Anthony, Project Manager and Researcher, SeaChange Marine Conservation Society
The “Wonders of the Salish Sea” – connecting people to their home.
Deborah Simpson, BSc.OT, MEEC
Volunteer Planner; Nature Vancouver
The Wonders of the Salish Sea (WSS) is an adult education program that aims to connect people to the uniquely biodiverse, yet fragile, Salish Sea ecosystem in deep and meaningful ways. Presenters are local scientists, environmentalists, and naturalists who cover a wide variety of topics—from microscopic algae to charismatic mega-fauna, and more—over a 4-week period. This presentation will outline WSS’s path from a small in-person program to being held on-line with over 200 registrants annually, and the design features that intend to instill awe and wonder in learners of all knowledge levels, as well as a sense of community in this bi-national ecosystem. WSS is planned by a small group of enthusiastic volunteers with the help of local organizations.
Sunday, August 11 • 1:15 – 2:15 PM
Fun with Grade One
Tristyn Hay, Ph.D.
Biology Program Manager and Outreach Coordinator; UBC Okanagan
For this workshop we will revert back to our kindergarten years and sit through a workshop to learn about the difference between living and non-living. This workshop will start with some Q&A followed by a hands on activity where we get to build our very own sea-jelly. To wrap things up we will learn about proper animal handling before getting to see and touch some “real live marine animals”.
Teaching Marine Salmon Education in the Outdoors
Nathan Zabel
Education Program Manager; Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association
In this interactive session, participants will learn how the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) partners with teachers to expand learning and engagement for elementary students. We will showcase a hands-on, place-based activity focused on salmon in the marine environment, with connections to ecosystem health, sustainable fishing, climate change, and human action. This activity will be done outside, and participants can expect to gain skills and resources for teaching students outdoors on school grounds, at local parks, and in other outdoors spaces. The session will culminate with an opportunity to discuss strategies to implement with multiple grade levels and other programs, supporting collaborative sharing.
Humpback Whale Tales
Jackie Hildering
Co-founder, Director of Education, Communications Director; Marine Education and Research Society
Humpback Whale researcher, Jackie Hildering, will share the work of the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) and what has been learned as a result of studying individual Humpback Whales.
Yes, this presentation will be full of whale tails, and tales!
Jackie will share the stories of some of the whales MERS has learned from, speaking about them as ambassadors for understanding feeding strategies, site fidelity, the threats whales face, and the importance of whales to planetary health. This includes the story of how it came to be that Sir David Attenborough stated the name of one of the Humpbacks MERS nicknamed in Planet Earth III.
The aims of sharing Humpback Whale Tales are to increase wonder, respect, and concern for marine life, and, thereby, enhance the potential for marine conservation.
More about the presenter: Jackie strives to use what she learns from the marine environment for the well-being of future generations. She goes by “The Marine Detective” and is the co-founder and Director of Education and Communications Director for the Marine Education and Research Society, based in the Territory of the Kwak̕wala-speaking People, northern Vancouver Island.
For more see www.mersociety.org
Join an Orca Family with Sam and Crystal
Gloria Snively
Professor; University of Victoria
Karen Gillmore
Steve Pridgeo
Four children’s marine science books in the Sam and Crystal series is a feast for the eyes and inquiring minds of all ages. In this recently released book the children visit their Aunt Kate (marine biologist), Uncle Charlie (commercial fisherman) and their First Nations friend Ada. They learn about offshore, transient and resident orcas, why Southern Resident orcas are seriously endangered and why Northern Resident orcas are increasing in number.
When Ada invites the children to ride in a beautiful cedar dugout canoe to attend the Salish Sea Festival, they are transformed into orcas, members of Ocean Sun’s L Pod. They travel with the pod in search of Chinook Salmon, witness the birth of a newborn calf, swim with Harbour Porpoises, survive great dangers, and participate in a superpod party. Throughout they learn that they have a role to play in protecting our animal friends.
Presentation includes readings by Steve Pridgeon (voice over actor), interactive talk about illustration techniques by Karen Gillmore (illustrator). Designed for children 5 to 10, a must for parents, teachers and kids of all ages.
Sunday, August 11 • 2:45 – 3:15 PM
What about Worms!
Sheila Byers
Curatorial Assistant, Marine Invertebrate Collection; Beaty Biodiversity Museum, UBC
Many people cringe or utter distasteful comments whenever worms become a part of a conversation. Is it something about the wriggling, crawling and slimy touch that causes such a reaction? Yet not only are marine worms (Polychaeta) beautiful, some even spectacular, they are an essential component of the marine food web. Worldwide, marine worms are very diverse in terms of the number of species, their morphology and size ranges, tiny to surprisingly large. They live in a broad diversity of habitats from intertidal areas to the extreme depths of the oceans. To top it off, the methods of reproduction are not only risky but very creative, examples of adaptations that evolved over a very long time to ensure survival in their preferred habitats. Focusing on several local species, I will provide their natural history and unique adaptations. Perhaps you can be convinced that even if wriggly and gooey, marine worms evoke admiration for their adaptations and many ecological benefits and services that underpin the ocean ecosystems, as well as us. Besides, I need to mention that “You have made your way from worm to man, and much within you is still worm” (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1883 and 1885).
Canada’s Oceans Now: Public reports on the State of Canada’s Oceans
Kat Middleton
Science Advisor – National Lead – State of Canada’s Oceans; Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Curious about what’s happening in Canada’s ocean ecosystems? Come learn and explore about ocean health through the public report series Canada’s Oceans Now.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada publishes annual State of the Ocean reports on the current status and trends in the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans. Having published five reports so far, there is a wealth of information available in public-friendly formats for all to see. Various communications products have been developed alongside these summary reports, including engaging infographics, videos, and lesson plans to further engage audiences about the state of Canada’s oceans. These resources are designed to be versatile, catering to educators, policy-makers, and anyone interested in the health of our ocean ecosystems.
Come learn more about the development of these reports and what’s on the horizon for Canada’s Oceans Now.
Using the ShoreZone coastal imaging and mapping dataset for marine education
Sarah Cook
Executive Director; SeaChange Marine Conservation Society
The ShoreZone coastal imagery and habitat mapping dataset is a open access, public resource that can be used as a powerful tool for education about nearshore marine habitats in North America. This presentation would give an introduction to the ShoreZone data including how to access it and examples of how it has been used for marine education in the past. There will be handouts to provide to participants so they can access ShoreZone from home!
Our EPIC Approach to Ocean Plastic Pollution
Chloe Dubois
Co-founder and CEO; Ocean Legacy Foundation
This presentation will provide an overview of the Ocean Legacy Foundation and our EPIC approach to mitigating and ending ocean plastic pollution. Based in Education, Policy, Infrastructure and Cleanup, OLF co-founder Chloe Dubois will provide an overview of the strategies OLF uses to educate the public, cleanup our oceans and coastal environments, and an introduction to the state-of-the-art process that transforms ocean, shoreline and marine industrial recovered plastics into durable, long lasting performance products as part of the circular economy. A must-see session you won’t want to miss!
Monday, August 12 • 9:00 – 10:00 AM
Hands-on: Ocean Acidification
Kay Shoemaker
Science Teacher; Rosemary Anderson High School
This interactive workshop will encourage participants to experience the science behind ocean acidification. We will chop up, blend, and strain red cabbage and sea water as a pH indicator, use straws to blow Carbon Dioxide into the indicator, discuss physical change and chemical change, and the impact increasing CO2 levels in the ocean have on marine life. We will also use our indicator to test acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate for pH changes to understand pH and chemical change based on color and the release of Hydrogen and its role in carbonic acid impact on marine organisms. Participants will take home a lesson plan and Predict-Observe-Explain worksheet for student use in classrooms or in the field.
This lesson plan was developed by Kay Shoemaker and Adrian Baez-Alicea
What’s New? What’s Coming? What’s Needed? Dive deep with fellow educators to explore the future of aquatic education!
Christy Wilson
Regional Stream to Sea Coordinator; Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Whether you are an individual educator or representing an educational group or organization, this interactive workshop will help you explore current topics, challenges, and opportunities facing aquatic education, from stream to sea. Participants will collaboratively identify key topics that require consideration in aquatic environmental education and share ideas, experiences, and connections that can help inform future strategies, programs, and activities. The ecological and social context of the work we do as educators is changing fast – let’s work TOGETHER to identify solutions and amplify innovations that support all learners to connect with their local watersheds while empowering them to address global issues.
The intention is to provide a facilitated session during which the participants interactively and collaboratively identify key issues/topics and then dig deeper into ways to incorporate strategies and actions to accommodate emerging issues and challenges in aquatic education.
A summary of the Information collected during this workshop will be shared with participants and will also serve as an “interactive poll” for the facilitator(s) from the Stream to Sea Program (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) to help guide future strategic updates and resource development.
Unraveling the Mysteries of Microplastics
Katherine Strom Trudel
Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Ocean Diagnostics
Educators will get the opportunity to learn how to bring real-world environmental science into their classrooms using the Microplastics Educational Toolkit. The session will go over the purpose of the kit, the importance of educating students on microplastics and how to actively bring data learning into their classrooms. Educators will sample for microplastics, use our first-of-its-kind technology to analyze what they’ve collected and use the data to brainstorm classroom solutions to reduce plastic pollution.
Monday, August 12 • 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Ocean Data for an Ocean Decade
Monika Pelz
K-12 Education Coordinator; Ocean Networks Canada
Lauren Hudson
K-12 Education Coordinator, Ocean Networks Canada
Dwight Owens
Associate Director of Learning and Community Engagement, Ocean Networks Canada
Snag ready-to-use, data and curriculum connected resources to bring science and ocean education into your classroom, outreach center, or even your trips to the beach!
Biodiversity, weather, climate change, food security, transportation, and even natural disasters can be explored with Ocean Networks Canada’s observatory! Big data can play an integral role in understanding the ocean’s influence on us and our influence on the ocean. No need to be intimidated, access to ONC data is free, approachable and there are many tools available to make you feel like an expert in moments. Explore these with us and bring new and exciting findings to your programs and activities.
Canada is an ocean country, and no matter where we live, we are all connected to the ocean through rivers, streams, estuaries, and more. Participants in this session will explore fun activities rooted in big data, marine science, and ocean exploration to celebrate and understand ocean connections. A natural fit as we approach the half-way mark in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), this is science for everyone and we welcome educators, ocean enthusiasts, and anyone with a love of the ocean.
Visualizing Climate Data as Abstract Art
Chandler Colahan
Interim Education Coordinator; Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Annie England
Community Outreach and Environmental Educator; Padilla Bay NERR
Liam Chamberlin
AmeriCorps Education Assistant; Padilla Bay NERR
People everywhere are experiencing climate change in diverse ways. Changes in our climate can affect our health, our ability to grow food, where we live, our work, and our safety. Using art to bring awareness to climate change and help people process emotions caused by the effects of climate change can be life changing. In this workshop, participants will interpret figures created by scientists and reimagine them as abstract art pieces. We will look at a range of climate related environmental issues including ocean acidification, sea level rise, and increasing wildfires, and use real data to create unique works of art.
Engaging students with coastal hazard and engineering topics through hands-on design challenge
Lindsay Carroll
Part-time Education and Outreach Coordinator, Hinsdale Wave Research lab at OSU
The O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory (HWRL) is a National Science Foundation-supported facility dedicated to coastal hazard and engineering research. HWRL is part of the College of Engineering located at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The state-of-the-art laboratory is the largest nearshore experimental facility at an academic institution and provides unique research and testing opportunities. In addition to research, the facility engages people of all ages with STEM topics through on-site tours and a variety of outreach programs. In January 2022, with the support of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) Science Communication Fellowship, staff worked to develop an outreach activity showcasing coastal hazards and the engineering process. Objectives of the activity include: 1) introducing students to coastal hazards (e.g. tsunami, tsunami debris, beach erosion, coastal flooding, marine debris); 2) exposure to the engineering process and how engineers work to find solutions that help people; and 3) using “natural” and “human made” items to build a model that offers a solution to a coastal hazard facing a specific user group or audience. Since April 2022, HWRL staff featured the activity during several local outreach events and summer day camps, reaching nearly 250 people of all ages. During this hands-on session, we will briefly provide an overview of the research facility, describe the activity development, and piloting process across a variety of outreach opportunities, and then spend most of the time simulating the engineering design challenge activity with session participants. By the end of this session, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and experience necessary to replicate the same activity with their students. All instructions, handouts, and materials will be provided. Participants will also be sent all handouts necessary for post-session replication electronically.
Monday, August 12 • 1:15 – 2:15 PM
Problem with Plastic: Exploring Hands-on and Interactive Learning with Ocean School
Kim Zumach
Middle School Science Teacher; SD72 (Campbell River) and Ocean School
Dive into learning with Ocean School, a free, innovative website from the National Film Board of Canada and the Ocean Frontier Institute. Ocean School creates bilingual, online, environmental education resources including videos, 360-degree and VR/AR content, interactive simulations, and ready-made activities.
In this session you will: Learn about Ocean School’s collection featuring scientists Chelsea Rochman and Max Liboiron, The problem with plastic.
- Join a hands-on demonstration and discover microplastic in your salt!
- Walk away with ideas and resources for learning-in-action projects with your students Session suitable for formal and informal educators K-12.
Please bring a device to access the internet during the session!
Additional Author: Ocean School (part of NFB of Canada)
Climate Education Otherwise: The Marine Edition
Meredith Lemon
Instructor; University of Victoria
Australia has already reached 1.47°C warming above pre-industrial levels and the IPCC VI shows us current policies have us on track for 3+°C warming. We know this is going to cause massive shifts in all of our (Western) ways of living. So, what do we do? What’s working? What’s possible? What needs to be done?
As educators, collectively, we need to know what the children/youth (and ourselves) will need to survive and even thrive in this future. “Climate education otherwise…seeks to prepare students with the stamina and the intellectual, affective, and relational capacities that could enable more justice-oriented coordinated responses to current and coming challenges” (Stein et al., 2023). Climate education otherwise moves beyond current colonial forms of education and invites “engagement and experimentation with other educational possibilities (without assuming we can identify or create fixed, universal, and flawless alternatives)” (Stein et al., 2023).
In this hour together, I will introduce this framework put together by a research team at UBC and guided by the Teia das 5 Curas (a network organized by Indigenous communities in Brazil). Then, we will break into small groups to discuss how this framework might enhance our educational programs and finally, we will come together to share our thoughts on what’s working, what’s possible, and what else needs to be done.
Decolonizing Habitats in Schools and Communities
Kiersten Brookes
K-12 Teacher BEd, MEd Building Life Skills using Force and Simple Machines; Strawberry Vale Elementary/VP of Environmental Educators Provincial Specialist Association
This workshop is action based and is founded on the ideas of Indigenous Genius and Respect to all beings. Sometimes we become aware that things aren’t how they should be. Resource use in the Colonial mindset is to use all of it until it’s all gone. We are at the point now that rivers are becoming persons in several countries, that the creation of pollution is beginning to be sent back to the companies who created it. Project Drawdown has made the world aware of all the things that can be done to fix the pollution, Carbon emissions, and other various ways we have been living beyond our means. I feel that the narrative has begun to change with the common person paying more and more and being unhappy with the upper echelon continuing to profit. While we pay for their continued pillaging and profiting from the Earth. More and more of the people on Earth are experiencing extreme weather, floods, droughts, wildfires, famine, water shortages. We also have been seeing a rise in grocery prices, rents, gas prices with carbon taxes applied, and lack of supply.
Indigenous concepts of taking only what you need, leaving things to grow where they will, no garbage (lack of infrastructure), clean water, native species food sources and medicinal plant uses. I believe we can teach the people around us to survive in this part of the world with foods and medicines from our areas harvested sustainably.
Decolonization and Reconciliation are important to forge ahead with as the solutions and genius of their systems has not been acknowledged much. Place names should revert back to the original names everywhere. The fake construct and selling of an image does not give the proper respect to the place and anything that has existed before.
Marine Debris Monitoring and More: Sharing Place Based Learning Tools and Projects We Use to Engage Students
Denise Harrington
Education and Community Science Specialist, Oregon Shores
Do you want to inspire all students to use their unique strengths through place and project based learning? In this one hour workshop, we will discuss how to use students’ strengths, standards, support, and science to inspire learners through community science and place based learning projects. Denise will provide examples of student centered projects, including the Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP, usually pronounced “M-D-MAP”) used to monitor and assess marine debris in a survey area. We will explore the newly revised MDMAP Guide for Educators as a tool to establish a survey site, complete a field survey, collect and submit data, and integrate this work into your curriculum. You will see how through this program, diverse students, 6th grade and above, can become part of a dynamic and collaborative community of scientists.
Participants will also have an opportunity to share c* science programs they have used in the classroom. We will discuss how to use student strengths, standards, regional, national, and international support, and science to increase engagement, rigor, and meaning in our class through community science and student centered project learning.
Prior to joining Oregon Shores as an Education and Community Science Specialist, Denise Harrington was a K-12 educator for 14 years, National Geographic Teacher Consultant, NOAA Teacher at Sea Alumni Association Fellow, field surveyor, wilderness ranger, attorney, and more. Project based learning took her out of the classroom, up and down watersheds, to the Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, and beyond. She finds outdoor, meaningful project based learning is the best way to level the playing field and see all students shine.
In a companion outdoor field experience, participants will establish a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Protocol (MDMAP) survey site at Weir Beach on Saturday and complete a marine debris survey.
