Educating the Tall and the Small

Following two successful Student Summit programs at Island Beach State Park, NJ, and Gateway National Recreation Area – Great Kills Park, NY,  COA’s Education Coordinator Kari Martin has been busy this fall presenting to nearly 350 students of all ages at schools and organizations throughout NJ.

COA educates students about ocean pollution issues and engages them in discussions to participate in solutions.  Among other actions presented, students and teachers are encouraged to initiate local campaigns to reduce single-use plastics in their school and communities, organize cleanups, be mindful of their watershed, and educate others to change individual behaviors to improve and protect the environment.

COA’s Education Coordinator, Kari Martin conducting a training session for Education Ambassadors

To help meet the demand of school presentations around NJ, COA continues its Education Ambassador Program.  Retired, former, interested and aspiring educators are welcome to apply to COA to serve as on-call educators.  Education Ambassadors assist COA’s Education Coordinator by conducting presentations about ocean pollution issues to school and community groups across the state of NJ.  Ambassadors are trained in the following presentations: “Pointless Pollution,” “Enviroscape,” “Soak It Up,” and “Be the Sea Change.”  Recently, COA hosted two sessions to train the next Education Ambassadors, and to get them ready to speak at school assemblies and programs.

Interested in scheduling a program or COA’s educational materials?  Go to our website and follow the links for “Education Programs;” information about presentations, as well as educational resources and materials are available.  To request a presentation for schools or clubs, contact Kari Martin to receive a “Presentation Request Form.”