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President's Address
Dear NYSMEANS,
Happy New Year! As we look into 2011, one of the major goals as an organization is to increase the stewardship of our waterways.
To that end, more than 10 of us are heading to Louisiana to participate in restoration activities associated with the oil spill, and this year's Annual Conference (save the date-- June 4, 2011!) will have a stewardship theme. One great way to get involved yourself is to head to the NYSMEA website and get involved with some citizen science activities. There are great projects there, from water quality monitoring to species counts, beach cleanups to shellfish seeding.
Our ocean gives us oxygen, keeps our Earth warm, and drives the life-giving rainfall. How can you give back this year?
Meghan
Meghan Marrero, Ed.D.
NYSMEA President
president@nysmea.org
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Webcast Jan 19, 2011 at 7pm:
Exploring Long Island Sound
 The Long Island Sound watershed (or drainage basin) is home to 8.8 million people, many of which do not know how their everyday actions are affecting this precious waterbody.
Join Larissa Graham, Long Island Sound Outreach Coordinator with NY Sea Grant as she talks about the problems that are facing Long Island Sound and some creative ways that you can incorporate these topics into your curriculum.
The topics covered will relate to all NY estuaries, so please feel free to sign up even if your school is not on the north shore of Long Island.
Every participant will receive a packet of free materials!
To participate, you need only a computer and a phone (and, of course, to be a NYSMEA member!). Sign up by clicking here and we'll send you the link and phone number to attend.
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Beneath The Sea's Marine Careers Free Program for High School and College Students
FRIDAY, MARCH 25TH, 2011, 10am to 5pm
Meadowlands Convention Center, 355 Plaza Drive, Secaucus, NJ 07094
Beneath The Sea's mission is to educate the public about the oceans and the men and women who work in them. Each year, Beneath The Sea conducts a weekend symposium for the interested public presenting a summary of the year's activities in the fields of oceanographic challenge and opportunity. Their Marine Careers Program, a one day free program, for students and their teachers, focuses on educating our young people about the sea and what it means to our life and opens up the world of opportunities for the next generation of men and women who will find their life in the ocean. Join us for a fun-filled, educational and exciting day.
Speakers: We have an array of keynote speakers who will open your eyes to the myriad of careers available in the marine field! You will be inspired by their enthusiasm and their experiences - marine scientists, underwater technology inventors, underwater photographers, marine environmental specialists, and more.
Learn by having fun! Participate in interactive educational activities: Our workshop leaders will guide you through a hands-on simulation to "cap" a deepwater oil well in a simulator, dressing up in a commercial diving rig, and testing your skills in valve assembly blindfolded while being timed! Meet with scholarship judges and scholarship winners who will give you ideas on how to prepare your scholarship applications. And, learn some techniques that you can use in your everyday life to help save the ocean. You will never look at household items, such as, plastic bottles, milk cartons, and aluminum cans in the same way again.
Marine Career Exhibitors: Speak directly to our Marine Careers Exhibitors aboutmarine careers, internships, community activities and academic opportunities. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Kingsborough Community College, Seacamp Association, Barry University and Stony Brook School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences are just some of our Marine Careers Program exhibitors.
And visit our 300+ Exhibitors on the show floor at the end of the Marine Careers Program.
Individual registrations are also welcome. Share this information with your dive club, marine science clubs, teachers, students and youth organizations. Open up an opportunity for a young person! Reserve your school's place at BENEATH THE SEA'S Marine Careers now at www.BeneathTheSea.org.
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Naturally New York:
An Educational Excursion on the Water Taxi
By Dr. Merryl Kafka, Marine Science Consultant
You may have heard of the booze cruises in Sheepshead Bay, but now get ready for t he teacher's version of the curriculum cruise, an adventurous way to "marinate" your kids. Your students will be immersed in the rich resources and history o f New York Harbor once aboard the famous yellow Water Taxi. The National Park Service and the NY Harbor Conservancy joined forces to produce this floating classroom featuring National Park Rangers equipped with biofacts such as horseshoe crabs and diamondback turtle shells for participants to handle.
Listen carefully... a pre-recorded narration by the city's most prestigious scientists, ecologists, authors, and educators (I had the honor of participating) will guide you past our city of islands---Ellis, Liberty, Hoffman and Swinburne (just south of the Verrazano Bridge), Coney Island, and into Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a federally protected area comprising over 9,000 acres.
 Geologist Sidney Horenstein, from the American Museum of Natural History, will take you back millions of years, to vast continental glaciers, and how the narrows was formed just a mere 13 thousand years ago; authors John Waldman and Mark Kurlansky discuss respectively, the richness of the harbor, the turbulence of the tides and the stratification of the Hudson, and the depiction of the oyster, once the size of dinner plates, and its role in NY. One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day! NPS Ranger and avid birder David Taft will take you into the skies, searching for predatory Peregrine Falcons, perching upon our tallest bridges, stooping with speeds up to 200 miles per hour!
Marine science is so vital to our lives, and yet so underrepresented in our K-12 curriculum, both throughout the nation and in our city. Let's embrace the Ocean Literacy campaign for a smarter citizenship, infusing conservation ethics and local history, along with the sciences and the arts. "Naturally, New York" does it all!
 In 1524 navigator Giovanni Verrazano explored New York Harbor. Isn't it about time you did!
For more information on "Naturally, New York" Water Taxi spring trips, please contact: Lindsay Burtchell, Harbor Conservancy at 212.668.2776 or lburtchell@nyharborparks.org
Resources for your classroom:
John Waldman. 1999. Heartbeats in the Muck. The Lyons Press.
Mark Kurlansky. 2006. The Big Oyster. Ballantine Books.
Stephen Stanne, R.Panetta, and B. Forist. 1996. The Hudson: An Illustrated Guide to the Living River. Rutgers University Press.
Ocean Literacy information:
www.coexploration.org/oceanliteracy
www.education.noaa.gov
www.nysmea.org
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| Strandline (n): the high water mark; the area at the top of a beach where debris is deposited. | |
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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NEW Web Links | |
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Join NYSMEA!
NYSMEA holds an annual conference, periodic meetings, lectures, workshops, field trips, and boat trips. Learn a lot, have a great time and meet some talented, energized educators with a passion for water, just like yours!
Not a member?
Click here and join only $20 a year.
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Follow-Up Links
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