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Educational partnership with coastal and non-coastal schools to increase ocean acidification literacy

Students hike along a coastal trail as part of an ocean acidification literacy program. Provided by Flour Bluff Oceans Program (2023)
  • Principal Investigator(s): Katie Doyle, Flour Bluff Independent School District
  • Fiscal Year Funded: 2022, 2023, 2024

Ocean Acidification Education Partnership between non-coastal schools and Flour Bluff Oceans Program

Why we care
The target audience for this grant is non-coastal communities in Kansas, South Dakota, Arizona, and inland Texas communities. Inland schools, and students near the Gulf of Mexico, may have little experience with the ocean and ocean acidification education. Since every watershed is connected to the ocean, it is important for all students to be aware of the importance of the ocean to our coastal and island ecosystems, communities and economies. This project strengthens ocean acidification literacy and cohesion across states through an educational partnership between a coastal school and non-coastal schools across the nation, targeting students with diverse backgrounds and from groups underrepresented in STEM.

What we are doing 
This project will specifically target low socioeconomic students at Title I public schools. Science classrooms ranging from kindergarten to high school will be encouraged to participate.  Many of these students have never seen large water bodies let alone a hypersaline bay or the Gulf of Mexico. 

Professional development
Twenty teachers of inland communities committed to participate across the United States in Texas, Arizona, Montana, Kansas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Maine, Virginia, and North Carolina. Two additional teachers will participate informally: an indigenous teacher from North Carolina and coastal teacher from Hawai’i. Many schools participating will be Title I (74%) and inland schools. The primary coordinator leading this project is from Flour Bluff Integrated School District in Texas.

Curriculum development
The team will create a comprehensive ocean curriculum for a broad range of age levels and areas of interest. Curricula will all align to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The teaching toolkit will include 17 lessons and an ocean acidification coloring book, all of which will be hosted on a new website accessible to educators. A video explaining how to implement the lesson and pictures of students enacting it will accompany each lesson.

Field data collection
The twenty teachers attending the professional development program will receive a box of supplies to implement the lessons. Supplies included environmental sampling kits, oyster shells provided by local oyster operations in Texas, pH testing meters and supplies to teach the lessons. Additionally, participating schools all received water and air testing kits to collect their own data on nearby water bodies or rain water. Eleven schools (55%) conducted environmental testing using the kit with one classroom (5%) demonstrating the procedures instead due to students’ young age.  Environmental data included water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, wind speed, air temperature, air quality index (AQI), CO2, volatile organic compounds (VOC), rainfall and three particulate matter sizes (PM1, PM2.5, PM10). The website will feature data and photos of the classrooms.  

Community engagement
The ocean acidification website and continuous posts to social media will highlight student work, share information and educate local community members on the importance of ocean acidification, ocean change and community action. A core group of twenty sixth grade students from the Flour Bluff Oceans Program (FBOP) known as Wetland Ambassadors will serve as student role models and ambassadors for students in other grades participating in components of this work.

Engaging with experts
Students will directly communicate with experts on ocean acidification. The goal of this part of the project is to inspire students to engage in ocean science and stewardship, learn more about careers in this field, and get a chance to share their own ideas and questions. 

Benefits of our work
The long term expected project outcome is to increase awareness, empathy, and local actions that can help reduce ocean acidification by developing an educational partnership between FBOP and non-coastal schools across the country. The classrooms participating in this project will be able to not only learn about the ocean but feel empowered to make a positive environmental impact. Tangibly, students will receive supporting materials to implement the curricula developed by this partnership, hosted on a new webpage. 

Investigators
Katie Doyle, Flour Bluff Independent School District

Check out the collaboration website for educators. 

Image: Students hike along a coastal trail as part of an ocean acidification literacy program. Provided by Flour Bluff Oceans Program

ADAPTING TO OCEAN ACIDIFICATION

The NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) works to prepare society to adapt to the consequences of ocean acidification and conserve marine ecosystems as acidification occurs. Learn more about the human connections and adaptation strategies from these efforts.

Adaptation approaches fostered by the OAP include:

FORECASTING

Using models and research to understand the sensitivity of organisms and ecosystems to ocean acidification to make predictions about the future, allowing communities and industries to prepare

MANAGEMENT

Using these models and predictions as tools to facilitate management strategies that will protect marine resources and communities from future changes

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Developing innovative tools to help monitor ocean acidification and mitigate changing ocean chemistry locally

REDUCING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

50 more ways to reduce your carbon footprint >

On the Road

Drive fuel-efficient vehicles or choose public transportation. Choose your bike or walk! Don't sit idle for more than 30 seconds. Keep your tires properly inflated.

With your Food Choices

Eat local- this helps cut down on production and transport! Reduce your meat and dairy. Compost to avoid food waste ending up in the landfill

With your Food Choices

Make energy-efficient choices for your appliances and lighting. Heat and cool efficiently! Change your air filters and program your thermostat, seal and insulate your home, and support clean energy sources

By Reducing Coastal Acidification

Reduce your use of fertilizers, Improve sewage treatment and run off, and Protect and restore coastal habitats

TAKE ACTION WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

You've taken the first step to learn more about ocean acidification - why not spread this knowledge to your community?

Every community has their unique culture, economy and ecology and what’s at stake from ocean acidification may be different depending on where you live.  As a community member, you can take a larger role in educating the public about ocean acidification. Creating awareness is the first step to taking action.  As communities gain traction, neighboring regions that share marine resources can build larger coalitions to address ocean acidification.  Here are some ideas to get started:

  1. Work with informal educators, such as aquarium outreach programs and local non-profits, to teach the public about ocean acidification. Visit our Education & Outreach page to find the newest tools!
  2. Participate in habitat restoration efforts to restore habitats that help mitigate the effects of coastal acidification
  3. Facilitate conversations with local businesses that might be affected by ocean acidification, building a plan for the future.
  4. Partner with local community efforts to mitigate the driver behind ocean acidification  – excess CO2 – such as community supported agriculture, bike & car shares and other public transportation options.
  5. Contact your regional Coastal Acidification Network (CAN) to learn how OA is affecting your region and more ideas about how you can get involved in your community
       More for Taking Community Action