On Watch – August 30, 2016
“On Watch”—from the President’s Desk
August 30, 2016
Hello NAME!
I’m still jazzed from yet another a wonderful NAME conference in a stunning location. The BC folks outdid themselves, putting on a fine celebration of all things aquatic and marine. They found a gem of a host with Pearson College, in humble Metchosin, BC, and put together a powerful lineup of fascinating concurrent sessions, and exciting field trips. Inspirational keynote presentations by Lenny Ross, Dr. Eileen van der Flier Keller and Jane Watson blended science with a shared love of the aquatic environment. The week at Pearson rekindled by passion for marine education and motivated me to get my students back into nature. I want to give special thanks to Jennifer Magnusson, Sile Kafrissen, Cathy Carolsfeld, Carolina Carolsfeld, and Mary Holmes. This year’s conference couldn’t have happened without all of your hard work and dedication. And I also want to thank everyone else who chipped in to make #unitedbywater2016 a success. Putting on a NAME conference takes a lot of shared effort and dedication. You guys rock!
Many of this year’s sessions and presentations focused on Indigenous Science and broadening our teachings so that all members of our community are fully contributing to a shared knowledge base. We are at our best when we learn from each other’s histories and can solve current and future problems together. Honest, heartfelt discussions about sometimes painful subjects can only occur in a deeply caring and supportive environment, which NAME cultivates so well.
Of course we also had lots of fun. Participants in this year’s field trips kayaked, hunted fossils, visited local environmental education facilities, and explored the wildlife of Race Rocks by boat. We stretched our vocal chords in evening sing-alongs and enjoyed quiet and contemplative walks through the wooded hillsides. This year’s auction raised over $4800 USD (that’s over $6000 Canadian dollars) to support scholarships and mini-grants so folks can continue to engage in our generous community (https://www.pacname.org/mg.shtml) And as always, there was lots of dancing.
Next summer we’ll be in Homer, Alaska, enjoying the natural classrooms of the Kenai Peninsula and Kachemak Bay. Be sure to check for updates on the NAME webpage (www.pacname.org) and on Facebook. And in the meantime, look for NAME flashmail in your email inbox to see job opportunities and local chapter event announcements for this year (https://www.pacname.org/chap.shtml)
If you’ve got the travel bug, feel free to visit friends and participate in events in other states as well.
As summer becomes fall, I’m looking forward to exploring the waters – marine or fresh – of the Northwest I’ll be thinking about everyone at NAME, and the excitement of seeing everyone in Homer next summer.
Be well, have fun and get outside,
Woody
Woody Moses
NAME 2016-2017 President
