Expand Learning Beyond the Classroom

Twice a year middle school students from around New Jersey experience hands-on marine environmental education at the Jersey Shore. Central and Northern County students visit Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook in May and Southern County students visit Island Beach State Park in October. The Student Summit is a great way to expand learning beyond the classroom.

Students get to learn about different marine animals and ecosystems at their location. In the Spring students learn about one of NJ’s unique and ancient marine animals, the horseshoe crab. Students learn about the life history of this species that pre-dates the dinosaurs, the myths about this animal, its role in the ecosystem, the biomedical and economic importance to humans, and how we have impacted the species. Students will be shown the proper way to handle the horseshoe crab so they can get a closer look at this valuable species.

In the fall, the students learn about terrapins, turtles that inhabit estuaries along the east and Gulf coasts of the United States. Students learn about the life history of this species, interesting variations in their marking attributed to genetic diversity, its role in the ecosystem, and how we have impacted the species. Students will be shown the proper way to hold and handle the terrapins so they can get a closer look at this interesting species.

Other activities at the Student Summit include an interactive series of work stations with a variety of hands-on activities for students to learn about the environment. Students will learn about the water quality approach to aquatic resource assessment by collecting and analyzing water samples. New Jersey is within the Atlantic Flyway, providing a diverse viewing of coastal birds throughout the year. Students will join local birding experts in a survey and identification of coastal birds. Waves, wind, and currents shape New Jersey's barrier beaches. By making a beach profile, students will understand sand distribution, beach zones, and tidal water levels. New Jersey’s estuaries offer a variety of habitats as important breeding, feeding, and nursery grounds for a diversity of fish and invertebrate species. Students will use seine nets and sieves to collect fish and invertebrates to observe and identify common marine animals found in the local bays. Students will learn about the types, quantities, and sources of marine debris plaguing our coastal region and will participate in a cleanup.

These hands on activities allow students to get out of the classroom and into nature. In this day and age it is important to get children back outside exploring their own backyard. During our Student Summits participating students not only get to learn about different species and issues, but get to hold the animals, collect samples, and see firsthand threats facing our coast. The Summit left a lasting impression on past participants and we encourage more schools to apply!

The deadline for the Spring Summit is April 24th. Apply today! 

More information on the Student Summit can be found on our website under Education Programs www.cleanoceanaction.org

Back to School with Clean Ocean Action

Fall into action in 2012 with one of Clean Ocean Action’s Fall Education Programs:

Fall Student Summit at Island Beach State Park…
October 11, 2012 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

• The Summit is FREE and open to Central & South Jersey Middle Schools. 
• The activities included in the Summit complement the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards.
• Schools must provide transportation to Island Beach State Park
• Teachers must download and submit the Student Summit Application and agree to the Terms of Participation.

The Student Summit is designed to provide middle-school students (Grades 5-8) from throughout NJ with an opportunity to experience hands-on, marine environmental education at the Jersey Shore. Students participate in round table sessions such as horseshoe crab discovery and proper handling, seashell identification, invertebrate identification, project terrapin, and activities to identify and propose solutions for non-point source pollution.   Students also get to participate in one of the following field trips: birding, fishing, beach sweeps, seining, water testing, or a nature hike.

Fall Statewide Beach Sweeps… 

October 20, 2012 9:00 am – 12:30 pm

• Perfect way to fulfill community service requirements
• Sweeps are FREE and open to the public. All ages are welcome.
• All materials are provided by COA EXCEPT gloves.  Volunteers are encouraged to BRING & WEAR their own re-usable gloves. 
• Groups of 10 or more are asked to pre-register.

Clean Ocean Action hosts over 65 Beach Sweep locations throughout New Jersey.  The Beach Sweeps are an excellent opportunity for students and schools to give back to the community through service. The Beach Sweeps is much more than picking up trash, it’s about collecting data.  Volunteers become citizen scientists as they record each piece of debris on data cards.  It ensures that the volunteers’ good work becomes a legacy of information to help reduce marine litter.  The data is compiled into an annual report that highlights and documents the magnitude and extent of marine debris. It provides evidence to reduce litter, serves to educate the public, and drives efforts to combat marine pollution.

2012-2013 Student Ocean Advocates…. 

November 2012-May 2013

• Excellent Resume Builder!
• Open to Monmouth & Ocean County High School Students

Monmouth & Ocean County high school student gather and learn about current environmental threats to our oceans on which they build and implement a campaign to raise awareness in their schools and communities. SOA meeting are facilitated by Clean Ocean Action staff members.  Students learn environmental issues, leadership skills, public speaking skills, and advocacy techniques.

COA Welcomes Three Interns for Summer 2012!

 

From left to right: Krista Barone, Joanna Simon and Jonathan Panico

 

COA Beach Sweeps Intern: Krista Barone

Good day to each of my fellow ocean advocates! My name is Krista Barone, and I am honored to be able to introduce myself as Clean Ocean Action’s Beach Sweep intern for the summer of 2012. I grew up in a small shore town on Barnegat Bay and have had a deep love for all nature, both inland and marine, for as long as my memory has served me. My initial experience with Clean Ocean Action began in the winter of 2009. I joined the pilot year of COA’s Student Ocean Advocates program in Ocean County and helped educate the public on eutrophication and its effects on the marine environment. I remained with SOA as a co-chair until 2011, after which I graduated high school and continued to further my education, pursuing a dual degree in Biology and Chemistry at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.

As COA’s Beach Sweeps Intern, I organize the data collected by volunteers from all 70 Sweeps sites. At each site, volunteers keep track of the number and type of marine debris that they collect. I have been inputting this data into the Beach Sweeps database. It is from this data that the Annual Beach Sweeps Report is compiled.

I also assist in leading the Corporate Beach Sweep programs on Sandy Hook. Corporate groups as small as 15 and as large as 150 volunteers participate. In addition to these larger responsibilities, I work with other members of the COA crew on our upcoming Tour for the Shore.

It is exciting to have the opportunity to pass on knowledge of the coastal ecosystem to those people who have not been fortunate enough to experience it! I look forward to an exciting summer of education and advocacy with Clean Ocean Action!

 C.O.A.S.T. Intern: Joanna Simon

Summer is here, and so is the start of our 23rd annual C.O.A.S.T. (Clean Ocean Action Shore Tips) campaign! My name is Joanna Simon and I would like to introduce myself to you as this season’s 2012 C.O.A.S.T. coordinator. I am currently a senior at Tulane University in New Orleans studying environmental science, and I am very excited to pursue my studies in environmental issues with Clean Ocean Action this summer!

Growing up in Monmouth County has given me a great appreciation for our coastal waterways. Whether surfing, kayaking, swimming or just going to the beach, I definitely take advantage of the many opportunities that we have here at the Jersey Shore. In the upcoming months, I plan on taking this appreciation and harnessing it towards a summer of activism with COA!

A major component of my C.O.A.S.T. internship is organizing information and action tables at beaches in Monmouth and Ocean counties throughout July and August. These tabling events are a great way for volunteers to participate with COA and take action for a cleaner ocean! As a new or seasoned volunteer, it is very important that you attend one of the two volunteer update sessions—“Pizza Parties with a Purpose.” Come enjoy a night of pizza, ocean empowerment, and meeting other volunteers!

Please let me know if you will be attending one of these two sessions:

• Wednesday, June 20, 7:00-9:00 PM, Sea Bright Public Library
• Thursday, June 21, 7:00-9:00 PM, Jenkinson’s Aquarium in Point Pleasant Beach (entrance to the aquarium is free for COA volunteers!)

It only takes a few hours to be a part of this amazing effort! Each volunteer will receive a complimentary T-shirt, enjoy a day at the beach, and feel great about being a part of the solution to ocean pollution. I look forward to working with you on an important campaign to protect both the ocean and the shore.  To RSVP for a Pizza Party or participate in COAST, please call me at (732) 872-0111 or email me at Coast@CleanOceanAction.org.

 Science and Policy Intern: Jonathan Panico

My name is Jonathan Panico and I have the privilege to introduce myself as Clean Ocean Action’s Science and Policy Intern for the summer of 2012. I recently finished my 1L year at Pace University School of Law, and I attended my undergraduate at Ramapo College of New Jersey in 2010 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Public Policy. During the year before I went to Pace, I worked at Y.M.C.A. Camp Mason teaching outdoor education classes. I have also worked with the Meadowlands Environmental Commission teaching environmental education classes and done studies on the effects of hydraulic fracturing in the Catskill Mountains as well as the ground water supply in Sussex County. While I am originally from the northern part of Sussex County (near Mountain Creek for those less familiar with the area), I have always loved the ocean and especially cherish my experiences snorkeling in the coral reefs in the Florida Keys and working in salt marshes and estuaries here in New Jersey.

As the Science and Policy Intern, I will be researching and developing issue papers and advocacy summaries that concern COA’s key policy campaigns and issues. In addition, I will also be constructing a report concerning the current state of the New Jersey/ New York Bight that will be used to frame the importance of the area as an economic, environmental, and cultural hotspot. I look forward to aiding with these initiatives and hope that I will have the opportunity to interact and meet with some of you over the course of the summer!

Student Summit at Sandy Hook

 Student Summit at Sandy Hook

May 15 & May 16, 2012

9:00 am - 12:30 pm


Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.

Clean Ocean Action's Student Summit expands learning beyond the classroom.  It is designed to provide middle school students (Grades 5-8) from throughout New Jersey with an opportunity to experience hands-on, marine environmental education at the Jersey shore. 

The activities included in the Student Summit have been selected to present students with an interdisciplinary marine and environmental education experience that complements the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards.  Clean Ocean Action's Student Summits (program and materials) are FREE.   The Spring Student Summit is for middle school students in central and northern NJ and takes place at Sandy Hook. Schools simply have to provide their own transportation. 

Students participate in six hands-on roundtable activities, which include learning about horseshoe crabs, identifying seashells, studying invertebrates, observing a model of nonpoint source pollution, and learning the lethal effects of litter on the marine environment.  Students from the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST), a high school located on Sandy Hook, serve as peer teachers at the activity workstations.   

In addition, naturalists and other education professionals lead students in twelve field activities throughout the parks.  Some students use seine nets to collect and identify common marine species.  Other participants learn about key bird species, participate in a beach cleanup, test water quality, learn fishing techniques, learn to surf, and traverse trails with park naturalists.  It is a memorable experience for all participants.

Schools must apply to Clean Ocean Action  for participation in this program and agree to the Terms of Participation. For more information and to register contact:

Tavia Danch

Education Coordinator

Clean Ocean Action

(732) 871- 0111

Education@CleanOceanAction.org

Big Week-Bigger Weekend!

This week was a big one here at Clean Ocean Action, but the weekend will be bigger!

Over the past few days, COA has had meetings with Congressmen and Senate Staffers on ocean pollution prevention issues, been busy attending (sometimes remotely) seminars and colloquia on stormwater, ocean policy, environmental law, and other coastally-related issues, and we’ve also managed to clean our office kitchen!

The top story of the week, though, was on Thursday.  A tip of the hat to COA’s Education Coordinator Tavia Danch and the success of the 23rd Annual Fall Student Summit!  Highlighted in a story in the Asbury Park Press entitled “Fall Summit teaches students about beach stewardship” (http://goo.gl/vXAmL), the Summit saw over 325 middle school students visit Island Beach State Park for a day of ocean and coastal education!

Students came from 13 schools across Mercer, Ocean, Camden, and Monmouth Counties.  Late each summer, COA sends out invitations to every school in the state, asking for interest in spending a day with us at the beach – and we’ve had constantly increasing levels of involvement and interest from across the state.  In the Spring, COA hosts its Monmouth County Student Summit for middle schoolers from Monmouth and more northerly counties.  The Spring event is a two-day summit, drawing almost 600 students total.

These two summits wouldn’t be successful without the help and expertise of high school volunteers from Ocean County’s Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES) and Monmouth’s Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST).  This week’s Fall Summit went off without a hitch thanks to over 50 MATES students that taught a dozen lab stations and led almost as many field trips through the dunes and marshes!

If your school is looking to spend a great day on the beach with COA next year, send a note to Tavia Danch and she will get you information.

This week’s events were BIG, but the weekend will be Bigger!

Saturday:

-          COA Staff will be at the Rumson/Fair Haven High School’s Environmental Festival, in Rumson, NJ to help RFH students get the word out about actions that can be taken in your home, yard, and neighborhood for a cleaner ocean!  Read about some of the over RFH Fall Festival happenings here!

-          All day Saturday, COA will be at the Asbury Park BeerFest (click here for ticketing info) – a one-day, two-session celebration of New Jersey’s finest craft and historical brews.  COA, along with Best Day Foundation, will be sharing parts of the proceeds of the event (thanks!!!), so make sure to stop by our tables when you’re at the festival (and drive safely!).

Saturday & Sunday

-          COA volunteers will also be at the North American Sea Glass Festival at the Ocean Place Resort in Long Branch supporting the work of local artists and activists interested in a more pristine ocean environment!

Your voice matters: Vote for our SOA!

National Environmental Education Week  is the nation’s largest environmental education event held each year the week before Earth Day and this year’s theme is about exploring ocean connections.  To that end, the National Education Foundation is promoting a video contest by Planet Connect for High School students throughout the country in which the entrants discuss their connection to the ocean.  

One of our own Student Ocean Advocates, Brian Geiger, from Manasquan High School entered his video, “A Step in the Right Direction,” and is now a 2011 Finalist!  But he needs our help to win!  Please watch his video and “like” it before April 1 so that he can win!  It’s a great video talking about how drinking tap water instead of plastic bottled water can really help the ocean.  Go Brian!

Student Ocean Advocates Battle Bottled Water

Clean Ocean Action has an awesome program for high school students in Monmouth and Ocean Counties called Student Ocean Advocates or SOA.  The students meet twice a month for five months and learn about current ocean threats and experience key advocacy techniques that can make a difference today and in the future.  

We are in the 5^th year and this year’s Monmouth County SOA’s are working on reducing consumption of bottled water in their schools and communities.  What’s so bad about bottled water you might ask?  Well, for starters, bottled water is actually LESS regulated than tap water.  Tap water is tested for contaminants such as E. coli while bottled water is not.  Forty percent of bottled water is taken from municipal water sources (AKA Tap water) but you pay up to 1,900 times more for the bottle than you do for tap.  In addition, there are many environmental problems with packaging, shipping, and selling bottled water.  It takes 3 times the amount of water to produce the bottle as it does to fill it.  It also takes 3 fluid ounces of crude oil to produce one plastic bottle.  Seventeen million barrels of oil are used in the production of water bottles yearly, enough to fuel 1 million cars for a year!

So what does this have to do with the ocean?  Have you ever seen a plastic bottle or plastic pieces in the ocean or on the beach?  Plastic is the most prevalent form of litter.  The recycling rate of all plastics used in the U.S. is only 2-3%!  Only one in five bottles is recycled and the rest end up in landfills or the ocean.  And the problem is plastic does not biodegrade, it photo-degrades, meaning when exposed to the sun’s UV rays, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces but NEVER fully goes away.  Fish, birds, and other animals frequently mistake smaller pieces of plastic for food.  They accumulate more and more plastic until they starve to death.  Animals can also become entangled in plastic and can suffocate and drown.  One and a half million marine animals are killed every year due to plastic!

So what can you do?  One way to cut down on the plastic is by ditching the plastic water bottles.  Invest in a stainless steel reusable bottle and drink your good old fashion tap water.  Don’t like the way it tastes?  A filter system can do the trick and will save your money in the long run.  A family of four can save over $1,200 a year just by quitting bottled water!  By reducing bottled water consumption, you are decreasing the amount of plastics ending up in the ocean and reducing the amount of fossil fuels being burned.  Go you!