Please join us for this opportunity to learn from marine and aquatic educators, scientists, traditional knowledge practitioners, and other industry professionals. Speakers will share experiences, educational tips and stories from the field. Registration is required; after registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Please contact us at info@pacname.org if […]
Welcome, Oregon Coast STEM Hub Director!
We are excited to announce that Dr. Kama Almasi has accepted the position of Director for the Oregon Coast STEM Hub and has just join the hub team!
Dr. Almasi brings to our STEM Hub over 35 years experience in STEM research and education, from college level down to elementary. She was previously a STEM Specialist at the Oregon Department of Education where she worked with the statewide network of STEM Hubs on computer science and math initiatives. Prior to her position at ODE, Kama spent two years as an Einstein Fellow in Washington, DC where she worked on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and STEM initiatives.
Kama has called the Oregon Coast home for more than thirty years and has a deep understanding of issues and opportunities that exist in our region. She knows the Oregon Coast STEM Hub well! When our STEM Hub first formed in 2013, Kama served on our Steering Committee as the teacher representative, and later spent several years as mid-coast coordinator for our STEM Hub.
Kama will be reaching out to partners soon and planning trips to the coastal communities we serve to better understand the opportunities and needs. She can be reached at Kama.Almasi@oregonstate.edu
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Salmon Bowl
The Salmon Bowl, Oregon’s Regional National Ocean Science Bowl (NOSB), was held in-person at Oregon State University this past February for the first time since 2020! The goal of the NOSB is to increase ocean literacy and stewardship among high school-aged students, offer career connected learning opportunities, and help students build teamwork and collaborative skills among their peers. In addition to the ocean science quiz bowl, students were exposed to OSU’s campus as they toured the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, explored the Fish Microscope Lab, and watched an Antarctic Ice Core demo. Five local Oregon schools participated, bringing 42 students and 10 coaches (teachers). The event was a roaring success because of the support of 50 volunteers, of which were OSU students, staff, and/or professionals working in ocean science. Kudos to the students of Benson Polytechnical School for their first-place finish!
Benson Polytechnical School Team A–first-place finishers in the Salmon Bowl!
There will unfortunately not be a finals competition this year, but Benson students will have the opportunity to participate in STEM at Sea experience aboard the R/V Pacific Storm!
Congratulations to 2nd place Neah-Kah-Nie HS Team A, 3rd place Benson Polytechnical School Team B and 4th place Monroe HS Team A. The sportsmanship award went to Benson Team A.
Congratulations to 2nd place finishers Neah-Kah-Nie HS Team A!
Big thank you to Oregon Chapter of NAME for providing hats to the winning team members and a complimentary annual membership to the teachers of the top four winning teams.
Our own Tracy Crews has the honor of being appointed to be the first Associate Director for Oregon Sea Grant at Hatfield Marine Science Center
By TIFFANY WOODS/Oregon Sea Grant
Oregon Sea Grant has appointed Tracy Crews of Yachats to a new position of associate director of education to oversee its K-12 marine education program, the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, and the public education wing of the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.
For the past 15 years Crews has led the marine education program, which offers summer camps, career days, field trips for school groups, and professional development opportunities for educators. She also helped launch and lead the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, which is one of 13 state-funded partnerships aimed at increasing students’ skills in science, technology, engineering and math.
“Tracy brings a wealth of experience to this new leadership position with Oregon Sea Grant, not just as an educator and a scientist, but as a long-time resident of the Oregon coast and a member of the Hatfield community,” said Karina Nielsen, the director of Oregon Sea Grant.
Crews will supervise about 15 employees and provide leadership and strategic planning for educational programs for the public, students and teachers. Some of those programs will take place at the Oregon Sea Grant-operated visitor center at Hatfield where Crews and her staff are already envisioning new offerings for the public.
“Keep your eyes open,” she said. “We’ll keep Fossil Fest and Whale Watch Week but will add more public events and hands-on programs to complement our exhibits.”
Crews said that consolidating leadership of the visitor center, marine education program, and STEM hub will allow staff to share expertise, support each other, repurpose content, and reach a broader audience.
In the past, Crews helped organize an annual underwater robotics contest; trips in which students learn to conduct research at sea; and an annual competition at Hatfield in which students mock up renewable energy devices.
Crews is currently leading two grant-funded projects focused on tsunami preparedness and marine debris prevention. In the latter, interns will be placed with businesses to identify strategies that reduce marine debris. Additionally, teachers will be introduced to lesson plans about marine debris and ways to prevent it.
Prior to her employment with Oregon Sea Grant, Crews worked for six years as a fisheries biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife where she oversaw several volunteer- and student-run fish hatcheries, coordinated habitat restoration projects, and provided hands-on education to thousands of students annually.
Crews was also a high school science teacher in Texas and a science program director for the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute in the Florida Keys. She earned a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in marine science from The College of William & Mary.
Article from Yachats News, Yachats, Oregon
Image credits: Top: Tracy Crews of Yachats has been named to a new position of associate director of education for Oregon Sea Grant programs at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Oregon Sea Grant/ Oregon State University; Bottom: Tracy Crews, the associate director of education for Oregon Sea Grant, talks to marine science day attendees at the Hatfield Marine Science Center last April. Broken Banjo Photography
Our Annual General Meeting is a chance for us to get together and celebrate everything that NAME-BC has been up to in the last year, plan out an exciting new year, and elect/re-elect our Executive Board. Our board consists of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, plus Directors. If anyone has a nomination in mind (either themselves or someone else who is willing to stand) for any of the positions, please send names to us ahead of time at bc@pacname.org.
Saturday, December 9
AGM 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Executive 12:00 – 1:00pm
Location: Cathy Carolsfeld’s house in Victoria West, and online via Zoom
For those of you who are able to join us in person, please contact us for the address. We would love to make it a more festive meeting by sharing some holiday cheer, so feel free to bring along some treats to share or wear your favourite Ugly Christmas Sweater!
Please register in advance if you are attending the meeting remotely. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Agendas for the AGM and Executive Meetings are available below. Everyone is welcome to come for one or both meetings!
2023 Annual General Meeting Agenda
2023 Executive Committee Meeting Agenda
In an effort to use our time together efficiently, we ask that you take a moment to review the minutes from last year’s meetings (linked below) prior to the AGM.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – a Reflection
Members of NAME are well aware that the Indigenous peoples of the US and Canada are the first and continuing stewards of the freshwater and marine ecosystems that are the focus of NAME’S educational efforts. Members of the British Columbia chapter of NAME are also aware that September 30, 2023 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, which occurs annually as established by the Canadian government in 2021. The purpose of this day is to acknowledge the trauma inflicted upon first nation’s children by Residential Schools in Canada, to reflect upon the harmful intergenerational legacy of those schools, and to explore ways to remediate the harm and to promote a healthy, balanced, and mutually respectful relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous people.
Until more recently, it was not well known that during much of the last century, the Government of Canada legally mandated the forcible removal of all First Nations children from their families and communities. They were placed within ‘schools’ where they were forbidden to speak their native language or engage in native cultural practices. The goal was to “remove the Indian from the child.” In fact, the schools removed the humanity from the child*, because children were subjected to physical, emotional, and often sexual abuse.
Non-indigenous ignorance about the abominations committed in residential schools dramatically ended with the ‘Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission’, held between 2009 and 2015 and chaired by Justice Murray Sinclair. The Commission held hundreds of hearings throughout Canada during which 6000 heartbreaking statements from survivors of Residential Schools were recorded. It ultimately produced 94 Calls to Action aimed at remediating the intergenerational harm done by Residential Schools. In the words of Murray Sinclair, “Reconciliation is not an Indigenous problem. It is a Canadian one.” It is necessary to find common ground between indigenous and non-indigenous people as a starting point for the process of building a mutually respectful relationship fostering dignity for both.
At last, the pendulum is swinging up, and we are witness to a great resurgence of the language and culture of our many Indigenous peoples. As the 2023 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation approaches, members of NAME might consider that the aquatic and marine ecosystems of North America and their animal and plant inhabitants are a common ground to begin a journey with our First Nations neighbours. This can help us understand the many children who were not only ripped away from their parents, but also from their natural relationship with the land and the land knowledge that would have been provided by Elders and Knowledge Keepers within their communities. By getting to know some of this history and the people who lived it, we can better understand different ways of knowing and appreciating the world around us. We can also recognize the value of all beings, both living and non-living, as teachers – a way of learning that was taken from indigenous children in Canada and from which all of us can benefit.
*Quoted from the 2022 film “Bones of Crows,” written and directed by Canadian Métis playwright Marie Clements.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) also hosts a wide range of films, documentaries & podcasts. To learn more, visit Truth and Reconciliation in action: docs that highlight the experiences of Indigenous people in Canada | CBC Documentaries
~by Louise Page, BC
There are just a few spots left to join Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators and their family and friends for a fun sail aboard the schooner Adventuress, a century-old National Historic Landmark tall ship operated by Sound Experience.
Help raise the sails and learn about life on the Adventuress during this three-hour sail on October 7th from 2-5pm. We will meet at the Shilshole Bay Marina in Seattle at 1:30 pm for paperwork and check in.
Members: $45 Adults/$25 kids (under 18)
Non-Members: $60 Adults/$35 kids (under 18)
Space is limited!
For more information, please contact wmoses@highline.edu.
Our Annual General Meeting is a chance for us to get together and celebrate everything that NAME-BC has been up to in the last year, plan out an exciting new year, and elect/re-elect our Executive Board. Our board consists of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, plus Directors. If anyone has a nomination in mind (either themselves or someone else who is willing to stand) for any of the positions, please send names to us ahead of time at bc@pacname.org.
Saturday, December 10
AGM 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Executive 1:00 – 2:00pm
Location: Jennifer Magnusson’s house on the Saanich Peninsula, and online via Zoom
For those of you who are able to join us in person, please contact Jennifer for the address. We would love to make it a more festive meeting by sharing some holiday cheer, so feel free to bring along some treats to share or wear your favourite Ugly Christmas Sweater!
Please register in advance if you are attending the meeting remotely. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Agendas for the AGM and Executive Meetings are available below. Everyone is welcome to come for one or both meetings!
2022 Annual General Meeting Agenda
2022 Executive Committee Meeting Agenda
In an effort to use our time together efficiently, we ask that you take a moment to review the minutes from last year’s meetings (linked below) prior to the AGM.
Washington NAME will again be hosting the annual Clamapalooza at Moclips Beach.
Join us Friday, April 21 – Sunday 23, 2023 for a weekend of festivities and marine biology. We will be at the Hi-Tide Resort again, hunting for the mighty Pacific Razor Clam, Siliqua patula. Joined by throngs of like-minded, bivalve-loving Homo sapiens, we will use shovels and guns (clam guns, that is) to extract the beasties from their sandy homes before the tide and surf filled our rubber boots with icy saltwater.
Book your room today at the Hi-tide resort on Moclips (there are only 10 sweets left) https://hi-tide-resort.com/
There are other AirBnB locations nearby as well if you need accommodations with more room.
Clamming Saturday and Sunday mornings and Saturday night potluck with NAME members, family and friends. Evening bonfire and music if the weather permits – bring musical instruments and cook up delicious food with your clams to share.
Please email giovanninah2o@gmail.com once you book your room so we can keep a running list of who is coming and send you up-dates on clamming permits and the agenda for the weekend.
Can’t wait to see you all there,
Giovannina and Woody
WA co-directors
Our Annual General Meeting is a chance for us to get together and celebrate everything that NAME-BC has been up to in the last year, plan out an exciting new year, and elect/re-elect our Executive Board. Our board consists of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and five Directors. If anyone has a nomination in mind (either themselves or someone else who is willing to stand) for any of the positions, please send names to us ahead of time at bc@pacname.org.
Saturday, December 11
AGM 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Executive 12:00 – 1:00pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Please register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Agendas for the AGM and Executive Meetings are available below. Everyone is welcome to come for one or both meetings!
2021 Annual General Meeting Agenda
2021 Executive Committee Meeting Agenda
In an effort to use our time together efficiently, we ask that you take a moment to review the minutes from last year’s meetings (linked below) prior to the AGM.
Our Mid-winter Board Meeting is a chance for us to check in with the NAME board, share what NAME has been up to in the last few months, and plan out the rest of our year. We will be discussing our upcoming NAME/CaNOE virtual conference, as well as our plans to host a national conference in Bellingham, WA in 2023!
Saturday, February 20
3:00-6:00pm PST
Location: Online via Zoom
Please take a moment to review the minutes from last year’s meeting, linked below.