Marine Science Educational Tools for Youth Sailing Programs Now Total 12 - Sailors for the Sea

Marine Science Educational Tools for Youth Sailing Programs Now Total 12

Press Release

Two new plans contributed by Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch help encourage young sailors to understand the need to protect and preserve the ocean and local waters

 

Newport, Rhode Island – June 5, 2012 – Sailors for the Sea, the only ocean conservation nonprofit focused on the sailing and boating community, continues to grow its Sailors for the Sea Rainy Day Kits for Environmental Education, the first-of-its-kind marine science based lesson plans developed for junior sailors, with the addition of two more lesson plans.

The Rainy Day Kits lesson plan library now totals 12 complete plans with the addition of:

  • Estuaries, Densities and Eutrophication – students look at how salt and freshwater behave when they meet in places like estuaries. Students create mini-ocean environments, introduce nutrients, and see what happens when pollution is added to the system.
  • Sustainable Seafood Matching Game – students play a matching game to identify different species of fish based on their appearance, and those that have been sustainably harvested.

These free, informal environmental lesson plans, are available online and were created in partnership with leading marine biology and science institutions. The 30-45 minute modules provide community sailing centers, yacht clubs, and waterfront facilities with practical educational tools for teaching the principles of environmental sustainability to young sailors. Sailing instructors who may not be formally trained educators in ecology or biology can easily incorporate the flexible lesson plans and their relevant content about marine ecology into their sailing instructions. The goal is to share the practical tools and tips needed to make a positive impact to natural resource depletion and habitat degradation.

“Since the very beginning of the launch of the Rainy Day Kit program, we saw the innate interest among today’s youth in wanting to preserve and protect natural resources,” said Annie Brett, program lead, Sailors for the Sea. “Bringing a fun, science-based educational component to youth sailing is an easy way to engage the next generation of ocean stewards who have a deep desire to protect the marine ecosystem.”

Sailors for the Sea, along with leaders in the fields of marine and environmental science and education, created and contributed the lessons and labs making up the Sailors for the Sea Rainy Day Kits for Environmental Education. The complete library of lesson plans, which includes a variety of activities from debates and interactive storytelling to hands-on activities and experiments for children aged five to 14, is available now by download. By summer 2012, this online resource will grow to at least 15 lessons as new plans are added monthly. Current lessons include:

  • Estuaries, Densities and Eutrophication – contributed by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater – students look at how salt and freshwater behave when they meet in places like estuaries. Students create mini-ocean environments, introduce nutrients, and see what happens when pollution is added to the system.
  • Sustainable Seafood Matching Game – contributed by Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch – students play a matching game to identify different species of fish based on their appearance, and those that have been sustainably harvested.
  • Ocean Resources – contributed by University of Miami’s RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program – students participate in a mock debate that highlights many of the different user groupw who draw on the ocean’s resources and introduces them to the principles of the Law of the Sea.
  • All that Glitters – contributed by University of Miami’s RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program – students take a journey to the deep sea and learn about what happens to light and colors deep in the ocean. This activity also illustrates the effects of light and bio-luminescence on predation through an engaging game.
  • A Story of Sand, contributed by Birch Aquarium/The Scripps Institute of Oceanography – students learn about beaches and the different geologic and physical processes that form sand.
  • Beach Bucket Scavenger Hunt, contributed by Birch Aquarium/The Scripps Institute of Oceanography – a fun hands-on activity that introduces students to beach ecology and the role manmade objects can play in the ecosystem.
  • Bio-Magnification Game, contributed by the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean – tag-inspired game that demonstrates the concept of bio-magnification as it relates to plastics and how chemicals and plastics can make it onto our dinner plates.
  • Clam Jigsaw, contributed by Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies – students create a cutout model of a clam to investigate the anatomy and physiology of these animals.
  • Density Currents, contributed by the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science – demonstrates the Thermohaline Circulation throughout the world’s oceans and the relative density between cold and warm ocean water.
  • Dirty Water Challenge, contributed by the New England Aquarium – teaches students about their environment in an engaging and practical way. Inquiry and discussion is embedded within the practical-students have to design, plan and then build their own design of water filter. Students are exposed to important concepts from a variety of scientific disciplines, including how the water cycle works, and the principles behind water filtering.
  • Oyster Tag, contributed by Sailors for the Sea – tag-inspired game that demonstrates the effects of pollution on oyster reefs, as well as the effect of oyster reefs on pollution.
  • Who Dirtied the Water?, contributed by the New England Aquarium – interactive story asks students to take on the roles of different historical and modern characters who have had a role in the pollution of a body of water. As the story is read, each character in turn adds a film container full of pollutants to a jar of clean water representing the body of water.

About Sailors for the Sea 
Founded in 2004, Sailors for the Sea is a nonprofit organization that educates and empowers the boating community to protect and restore our oceans and local waters. For more information or to participate in any of the Sailors for the Sea programs, or to become a member and support the organization, visit www.sailorsforthesea.org.