Citizens for Ocean Research and Education - CORE

10/18/2021

Here's something for our younger citizens!
Get your art supplies ready, because this year’s NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest is officially open! Students in grades K-8 can submit their artwork (electronically or by mail) now through December 10th that answers the questions:
• How does marine debris impact the oceans and Great Lakes?
• What are you doing to help prevent marine debris?
Contest winners will be featured in a 2023 calendar! Visit the NOAA website (https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/annual-noaa-marine-debris-program-art-contest-and-calendar) to check out last year's winners and download the contest entry form (https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/NOAA_Marine_Debris_Art_Contest_Entry_and_Release_Form_2022.pdf) and flyer. The deadline is December 10th!

10/05/2021

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The launch of the Sixth Edition of Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) Status of Coral Reefs of the World Report: 2020 (https://gcrmn.net/2020-report/) was held today.

This flagship product of the GCRMN describes the status and trends of coral reefs worldwide. This sixth edition is the first since 2008, and the first based on the quantitative analysis of a global dataset compiled from raw monitoring data contributed by more than 300 members of the network. The global dataset spanned more than 40 years from 1978 to 2019, and consisted of almost 2 million observations from more than 12,000 sites in 73 reef-bearing countries around the world.

The Executive Summary, Global Analysis and Regional Chapters are now all available to download at https://gcrmn.net/2020-report/

All the Social Media assets can be found in the Social Media Toolkit (https://spark.adobe.com/page/0cLdSSdguaftO/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=spark&utm_campaign=gcrmn), including regional posts and tiles. These are available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin.
A short animation is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKxdKx_ci90
UNEP has created a dynamic data visualization that distils the report findings for non-scientists in all UN languages, plus Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia and Swahili with an aim to: generating increased media coverage in regions; getting coverage in more mainstream media outlets; and wider interest from the public.

The flagship product of the GCRMN is the Status of Coral Reefs of the World report that describes the status and trends of coral reefs worldwide. This sixth ...

09/09/2021

The Allen Coral Atlas partners today announced that after three years, 450+ research teams and counting, and two million satellite images, the habitat mapping of the world’s shallow coral reefs is complete. Combined with the Atlas’ monitoring system launched earlier this year, the Allen Coral Atlas is now the most complete, consistent, accurate and continually updated resource for coral scientists, policy makers and regional planners.

A toolkit has been created to provide images, infographics, GIFs, and text for your use: https://spark.adobe.com/page/XnyfIYC7lIeJG/

Here is a blog post about the completion of the global maps:
https://allencoralatlas.org/blog/mapping-the-worlds-coral-reefs/

See the story

11/11/2020

This would make a great holiday gift and help support the New England Aquarium and all that they do. I've had the opportunity to do in-person encounters twice now, and I think that people would really enjoy the virtual encounters . . . until you get to do it in person.

Join our marine mammal trainers in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center for a training session with a California sea lion or northern fur seal. Learn about how we train, why we train, and what you can do to protect the ocean environment for these amazing animals.

09/17/2020

The NOAA Marine Debris Program's FY2021 Marine Debris Research grant competition (NOAA-NOS-ORR-2021-2006620) is open and soliciting Letters of Intent for review. Letters of Intent (LOIs) are due November 5, 2020. Please follow all submission instructions for the LOI outlined in Section IV.B. in the Notice of Funding Opportunity published at Grants.gov.

06/24/2020

Join us in June 26th to learn about BlueSwell, a new bluetech incubator program run by SeaAhead and the New England Aquarium

04/22/2020

Happy Earth Day, everyone! Although we are all practicing social distancing, we can still connect with people and organizations continuing to do great things for the planet. Please feel free to post information about virtual tours, presentations and webinars so that they can be shared more broadly. Here is one that people might be interested in:

Friday Fast Talk + Live Chat
Stressed Out? Effects of Climate Change on Baby Oysters
Friday, April 24, 10:00am
Online

Join VIMS graduate student Annie Schatz on the VIMS page (https://www.facebook.com/fbvims/), where she will be describing her research on the effects of climate change on larval oysters. After the short talk, she will be available to answer questions via the comments section. Inquiring minds wanted! The video will be available online after the chat.

VIMS and William & Mary’s Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences provide research, education and advisory service to Virginia, the nation and the world.

03/25/2019

A great big thank you to Steve Bailey and the Animal Care Center staff at the New England Aquarium for showing BSA Scouts from Duxbury, MA the many ways that these scientists and researchers are helping to protect our blue planet. I am a huge fan of the Baileys and these other selfless people who have dedicated their lives to the research to understand the problems we have created, finding ways to manage the impacts, and teaching others how they can be a part of this incredibly important movement. The New England Aquarium and its sister organizations do the most AMAZING things! NEAq.org

02/25/2019

2019 Marine Endangered Species Art Contest - Great opportunity for grades K-12. See the NOAA website for details:

Endangered Species Day Celebrate Endangered Species Day (May 17) and the International Year of the Salmon by having your classroom participate in the Greater Atlantic Region’s Marine Endangered Species Art Contest. Endangered and threatened species need our help. Students’ artwork will showcase ...

02/21/2019

Awareness of the issues revolving around marine litter has been increasing. Raising awareness is important in order to educate people and implement change. I wanted to share three things with you today: (1) information on Bow Seat's 2019 Marine Debris Creative Advocacy Competition, (2) a photographer's personal effort to raise awareness about plastics in our oceans, and (3) a link to a report on risks to human health from plastic. While plastics can be useful, it is important to recognize their over-use and seek alternatives that will help substantially reduce their introduction to the environment.

1. Bow Seat's 2019 Marine Debris Advocacy - This international competition challenges middle and high school students to design and lead a creative project or campaign in their school or community that educates others and inspires action to reduce or prevent marine debris and plastic pollution. Students have an opportunity to earn awards of up to $5,000! Bow Seat's Competition is a great opportunity for green teams, marine science or sustainability clubs, honor society members, Scout troops, or any environmentally-minded teens. Students can participate as individuals or as a class/club, with the support of an adult sponsor (teacher, parent, volunteer coordinator, etc). For more information, go to bowseat.org/marine-debris.

2. Karl Taylor Education Ocean Pollution Awareness Campaign - Commercial photographer Karl Taylor based in Guernsey, one of the British Isles, did a pro bono photo & video shoot of litter collected by volunteers belonging to the Facebook group 'Found on a Beach in Guernsey'. Fishing industry litter dominates the litter washing up on the Guernsey shore, but being just outside two international shipping channels, litter pickers also found plastic bottles and plastic containers originating from countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and China wash up along with packaging from closer countries: France, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, German, Spain, and the UK to name a few. Volunteers would like people to consider proper management of litter at sea and be more diligent about preventing its release to the environment.

https://www.karltayloreducation.com/ocean-pollution-awareness-campaign/

3. CIEL Organization Report on Plastics and Human Health - A new report just came out which is a must read for all of us, for it discusses human health risk, not just risk to marine life. Go to https://www.ciel.org/news/plasticandhealth/ to read the report.

Activating the next wave of ocean leaders through the arts, science, and advocacy.