Alaska
For more information on events in Alaska or if you have an event to share, please contact our Alaska Co-Directors, Jennifer Howell and Kristina Tirman, at alaska@pacname.org
Please join us on Mondays once a month to learn from marine and aquatic educators and scientists. Speakers will share experiences, educational tips and stories from the field. Please register each month to get the Zoom link to the event. Please contact wmoses@highline.edu if you have any questions or problems with the registration or link.
Register for the June 14 Speaker Series
Not a member? Membership expired? Make sure to join or renew now so you don’t miss out on these fabulous events!
Upcoming Speakers
Monday, June 14th 6:30pm
Frozen Sunlight Series: Connecting Ecological Research with Indigenous Knowledge—Janet Clarke, Education Director at the Sitka Sound Science Center
The Frozen Sunlight series includes easy to ship educational kits for secondary and adult learners. The topics focus on energy transfer in ocean ecosystems by weaving together current ecological research with Alaska Native cultural wisdom. The first Frozen Sunlight kit titled “Algae Connects Us” includes a beautiful film featuring the perspectives of Sitka Tribe of Alaska cultural liaison, Chuck Miller and University of California, Santa Cruz PhD candidate and marine ecologist, Lauren Bell. Information about identifying and collecting seaweed is provided and the materials included in the package allow students to collect and press algae for use in collections or art.
Algae Connects Us!—Sitka Sound Science Center video
The Frozen Sunlight series is funded by the Biomedical Learning and Student Training (BLaST) program at University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
We will be taking a break for the summer but we’re excited to return in the fall with a whole new line-up of speakers! If you would like to present, please contact Giovannina Souers at giovanninah2o@gmail.com
Speaker Archive
May 2021
Seabed Mining: “The Dawn of an Industry” and the need for a precautionary approach—Lee First, Co-Founder of Twin Harbors Waterkeeper, and Liz Schotman, Washington Regional Manager Surfrider Foundation. Washington State’s waters contain known mineral deposits, and there is increasing pressure to begin mining the ocean floor in some areas of the world. Given the present reality of rising ocean temperatures and acidification, nearshore marine waters and coastal communities along the Pacific do not need another threat. Oregon banned ocean mining in their state waters in 1991. Attend this presentation to learn why Washington should close their state waters to seabed mining. This step is a necessary precaution for coastal towns and cities where fishing and tourism depend on these valuable but vulnerable waters for their livelihoods.
April 2021
Astonishing Annelids—The COVID-19 pandemic challenged marine educators at all academic levels to provide their students with an engaging on-line educational experience. Dr. Louise Page, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Victoria (who was recently recognized by a UVic Teaching Excellence Award), didn’t miss a beat in preparing videos to substitute for the hands-on laboratory section of her Invertebrate Biology course. The decades of Louise’s passion for research and teaching about invertebrates permeate this work. Join us as she presents excerpts from her annelid lab, which showcase the astonishing diversity of morphology, behaviour and lifestyle among annelids.
March 2021
Investigating Crayfish + Freshwater Ecosystems Online—Learn to engage students in fascinating crayfish studies and water quality monitoring in this presentation with partners from The River Mile Network. Janice Elvidge from the National Park Service will team up with Rick Reynolds from Engaging Every Student and Jim Ekins from the University of Idaho Extension Service IDAH2O Master Water Stewards program to step you through student activities including scientific investigations in your local watershed to benefit people and wildlife. Learn methods to monitor native and invasive crayfish, as well as a variety of factors that impact water quality, while meeting the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards. Learn about ways to participate with The River Mile’s Crayfish Study project helping biologists and wildlife managers, and how different tools can be used to collect, analyze, and share data and student observations.
Resources from The River Mile Network
- Crayfish Study
- Complete Crayfish Curriculum
- Free Virtual Training
- Crayfish Study Resources
- Sign up for The River Mile Community Virtual Gathering, March 24, 2021 3:30-4:30 pm
Resources from IDAH2O
- IDAH2O Hydrologic Information System interface and interactive map of all sites
- IDAH2O classroom portion—asynchronous, self-paced
Other Resources
- The Pacific Northwest as an emerging beachhead of crayfish invasions: Julian D. Olden | School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences | University of Washington, Seattle
February 2020
Virtual Field Trips:Exploring and Sharing Our Local Ecology—Rosemary Anderson High School science teacher and NAME President, Kay Shoemaker, gave a presentation on how to conduct field trips in these oh-so-atypical times so that you can still engage your students in the wonders and magic of the natural world, even while we’re all sitting in front of computer screens for ten hours a day.
Resources
January 2021
Kayaking the Salish Sea During a Pandemic—WA-NAME Co-Directors Giovannina Souers (Environmental Education Program Supervisor City of Seattle) and Woody Moses (Highline College Biology Instructor) spent six weeks paddling over three hundred miles through the Salish Sea from West Seattle to the San Juans and back to Hood Canal. Learn what it took to do the trip, the challenges and surprises they faced and how they embraced adventure and uncertainty in the midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
December 2020
Monitoring Axial SeaMount: Research techniques for 1500 meters Beneath the Surface—Fawn Custer, CoastWatch Citizen Science Trainer will lead a fun holiday activity to start out the night followed by Bill Hanshumaker, former National Marine Educators Association Rep and OSU Researcher Emeritus talking about monitoring an axial seamount and research techniques for 1500 meters beneath the surface.
Please join us on Saturday, February 20 for our Mid-winter Board Meeting!
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.
The NAME-Alaska team is hard at work planning an exciting conference in 2017!
Save the Date: August 7-11, 2017, Homer, Alaska
Please visit the conference page for more details about the conference, including presentations, lodging, and registration information.