The winner of NAME’s 2024 Outstanding Marine/Aquatic Educator (non-classroom) is Lisa Habecker, Education and Volunteer Coordinator at the Haystack Rock Awareness Program in Cannon Beach, OR. Lisa is also our new Oregon Director!

Lisa has worked for HRAP since 2002 and has been coordinating educational programming for HRAP since then, officially becoming the education and volunteer coordinator in 2015.

In two decades with HRAP, Lisa has directly provided marine-based educational programs for over 40,000 students and has provided interpretive education for over 100,000 individuals visiting Haystack Rock. She has been a USFW volunteer for 7 years, a NAME member for the past 8 years, and has certifications as a Rocky Shore Interpreter. She is the heart and soul of HRAP!

HRAP and Lisa value education for visitors of all ages and backgrounds. They are committed to integrated and research-based approaches to public education. The program values the importance and ambassadorial role of the teacher in public education. Lisa’s programming ensures inquiry-based learning, research, reflection, and service as means to engage the local, regional, and international communities to address environmental concerns.

HRAP values the role of the teacher as expressed by their belief statements in education. Lisa believes that, as teachers, we need to foster every student’s ability to think independently, build confidence, engage their culture, and understand their beliefs. The programs’ actions reflect the belief that all students matter and are capable of learning and that every student, regardless of what age they are or the background they come from, deserves to discover their inherent desire to learn.

Lisa is an amazing leader and educator, and we are proud to honor her with this award!

 

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 2^nd place Neah-Kah-Nie HS Team A, 3^rd place Benson Polytechnical School Team B and 4^th place Monroe HS Team A.  The sportsmanship award went to Benson Team A.

Congratulations to 2^nd 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