Exemplars

Below is a list of links to programs, curricula, schools, organizations, and papers that provide varied and comprehensive demonstrations of exemplary contributions to ocean knowledge. Each link connects to a site that offers an in-depth look at what could be considered "best practices" in ocean education from the classroom to the reef.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Any topic relevant to the study of the ocean or related to the ocean can be found at the NOAA site. While the data is collected by this U.S. governmental organization, the information is global in its range, and includes satellite images of the earth, altimeter maps, world climate predictions, and electronic navigational charts. From this main site, you can move to other NOAA ' three of them are listed below. This is probably the most extensive group of sites related to ocean issues compiled in the U.S.
http://www.noaa.gov/ocean.html

Robert Ballard

In 1985, Dr. Robert Ballard and his colleagues designed a submarine that would allow them to descend to the depths of 3800 meters to find the most famous wreck of the twentieth century -- the R.M.S. Titanic. Discovering this sunken ship brought Ballard a lot of attention, especially from kids who asked to accompany him on his expeditions. Out of this experience, Dr. Robert Ballard created the JASON Project, a Web-based science course used by teachers around the country for students in grades four through nine; a curriculum for home-schoolers; and the Argonauts program, where kids participate in real ocean explorations. A Senior Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; and President of the Institute for Exploration at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, Ballard is an explorer, a scientist, and a devoted educator.
http://www.jasonproject.org/

Ocean Explorer

NOAA's Ocean Explorer site offers over 140 lesson plans, numerous professional development opportunities for educators, and an explanation of ocean careers. It contains video clips and images from 5 years of NOAA oceanic research expeditions. It is not only breathtaking to investigate, but this site has a wealth of information and incredible resources to teach from, enjoy and share.
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/

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Sea Grant

Sea Grant is NOAA's program to distribute federal grant awards to the states in support of support of research and program development, extension/education, coastal community development, outreach and communications, and management.
http://www.nsgo.seagrant.org/aboutsg/aboutsg.html

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

One of the world's foremost research and higher education institutes on ocean sciences, WHOI was founded in 1930 building on the ocean exploration of the 19th Century. Since then, WHOI has made seminal discoveries about the ocean that have contributed to understanding of life on this planet. With K-12 online educational resources, year-round professional workshops, fellowships for undergrads and post-docs, WHOI is a model of a cutting edge scientific research and learning institute.
http://www.whoi.edu/

WWF

Since 1985, WWF (formerly known as World Wildlife Fund) has invested over US$1,165 million in more than 11,000 projects in 130 countries. All of these play a part in the campaign to stop the accelerating degradation of Earth's natural environment, and to help its human inhabitants live in greater harmony with nature. WWF is an example of an organization with a vision that has provided the international community with information about environmental issues through a range of resources, partnerships with local environmental groups, stand-alone educational programs, and online news articles.
http://www.panda.org/index.cfm

The Marine Education Society of Australasia

MESA is an Australian organization that brings together people interested in coastal and marine environments in the region by providing a forum for shared ideas that facilitate the development of leading environmental education and interpretation programs. MESA is a great example of how to promote the sustainable use of marine and coastal environments through educational and online resources, and to create a community of learners by addressing teachers and non-educators needs.
http://www.mesa.edu.au/

Pacific Whale Foundation

Greg Kaufman, the founder of PWF, became involved in the fight to save during the 1970s. Recognizing the need for more scientific data about whales, Kaufman founded the nonprofit Pacific Whale Foundation in 1980, and immediately launched a noninvasive research study documenting the abundance, distribution and social dynamics of the humpback whales of Hawai'i. Since then, nearly two million people have learned about whales, dolphins and marine conservation through PWF's environmental education programs. The scope of these include eco-tours, curriculum for grades K-12 in Hawaii's schools, books, a website, and a new Ocean Science Discovery Center on Maui. PWF is a successful model of scientific research supported with educational and tourism dollars.
http://www.pacificwhale.org/index.html

The American Museum of Natural History

As anyone who has ever visited this museum knows, AMNH is an exciting and rich educational experience. The museum's virtual existence might even be more impressive than the actual site. Online there are educational resources on ocean issues ranging from fully interactive pages designed for kids, to information on the exhibitions, from lesson units and searchable lesson archives, to college level for-credit seminars on topics like "Ocean Systems." The museum makes everything they do "research, teaching, and exhibitions " accessible online. The three links below are a sampling of the scope and depth of AMNH: in the galleries, in the scientific community, and in the education.

The Milstein Hall of Ocean Life:
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/ocean/
The Bahamas Biocomplexity Project:
http://bbp.amnh.org/Newsletters/Issue4/index.html
Resources for Learning about Deep Sea Vents:
http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/dsv/index.php

The Coral Cay Conservation Trust

This 20-year old British organization supports coral reef conservation through a combination of individual memberships, eco-tours, government support, and private companies. CCC has three coral reef regions that it maintains through its innovative involvement of public and private funding: the Mamanuca Archipelago in Fiji, the Bay Islands of Honduras, and Southern Leyte reef in the Philippines. Through its funded research activities, CCC provides conservation scholarships for local people, supports alternative livelihoods, and produces educational resources to raise awareness of coral conservation issues.
http://www.coralcay.org/index.php

Women Oceanographers

Even now, it helps to be reminded that there are many women involved in scientific research, data collection and analysis. This site features the careers of remarkable women in oceanography ' a field so broad that it encompasses chemistry, geology, biology, and cartography. Each woman has followed a different path to her career and has gathered unique insights about her profession. The range of these women's activities is fascinating and their stories are inspiring. Geared towards kids, the site is an eye-opener for people of all ages, telling personal stories to help effect change.
http://www.womenoceanographers.org/

Save Our Seas

"One person can make a difference," is the slogan of Save Our Seas, a Hawaiian organization established as a result of Hurricane Iniki, which devastated the island of Kauai in 1992. A local group of people from the island got together to discuss the fragility of Kauai and to figure out how to create a sense of personal responsibility toward the natural resources of the island. A model for community growth and change in the face of environmental disaster, SOS also connects with innovative research in the field of reef and marine education (see Carl Stepath's papers linked to the site).
http://www.saveourseas.org/

Congal Biomarine Reserve ' Ecuador

Congal Coastal Marine, Mangrove & Tropical Forest Biological Station is located in the southern part of Esmeraldas province with a focus on organic shrimp and fish production to preserve the important mangrove habitat.

The Reserve's purpose is to develop projects in the fields of coastal ecosystems and marine conservation, organic and environmentally friendly aquaculture, farming and forestry. These projects, once tested, may be applied in local communities to provide sources of income and to reduce the pressure on already overexploited and threatened natural resources.

Community development and participation projects are also a very important component in Congal Biomarine Reserve.

Marie Tharp

Marie Tharp, a pioneer in oceanography, best known for creating the first detailed maps of the ocean floor around the globe based on sonar. A daughter of a surveyor, her maps have since become modern scientific icons, critical to the concept of continental drift.

"For most of her scientific career, Tharp remained in the background, but she said she harbored no resentment.

'Establishing the rift valley and the mid-ocean ridge that went all the way around the world for 40,000 miles ' that was something important," Tharp said. "You could only do that once. You can't find anything bigger than that, at least on this planet.' " (Los Angeles Times, 9/4/06)
Ms. Tharp died August 23, 2006.
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/story7_1_01.html

Sylvia Earle

Affectionately called "Her Deepness," or "The Sturgeon General," Sylvia Earle is a pioneer in marine research and a seasoned aquanaut who holds the depth record for a solo dive: 1,000 meters. She founded the Sustainable Seas Project, which is currently conducting a series of explorations of the United States' marine sanctuaries, and she serves as a scholar and "Explorer-in-Residence" for the National Geographic Society. Most importantly, Earle is a tireless advocate for marine conservation and for fostering public awareness of the perils to ocean ecosystems caused by over fishing and pollution.
http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=sylviaearle

Elisabeth Mann Borgese 1918-2002

Professor Mann Borgese believed that, just as life had emerged from the oceans onto land, a new form of human and environmentally friendly world order could emerge from the oceans to the land. She saw that the borderless oceans required a new form of cooperative governance to protect and preserve the ocean's precious resources for future generations. She believed fervently that finding a new non-territorial way to govern the oceans was necessary and would teach humankind important lessons for governing our shared planet.

She held annual Pacem in Maribus (Peace in the Oceans) conferences, bringing together the best minds she could find from throughout the world to work on the multifaceted problems of creating a new law of the seas.

Elisabeth also created the International Ocean Institute with branches throughout the world that trains individuals from developing countries to better use their ocean resources. She was a tireless campaigner for using the resources of the oceans to benefit those who needed it most rather than only those most technologically advanced. (David Krieger, President of Nuclear Age Peace Foundation)

National Ocean Service (NOS)

NOAA's National Ocean Service is an innovative resource designed to introduce high school students to the breadth of scientific research, technology, and activities conducted by NOAA in the areas of oceans, coasts, charting and navigation. Within the NOS Discovery Center, students and teachers will find Discovery Kits, Discovery Stories, and the Discovery Classroom, theme-based units of study with downloadable lesson plans that connect to real-time data being collected in the field. NOS is a great example of how to incorporate data into lessons and use real science in a technology-adapted classroom.
http://www.nos.noaa.gov/education/welcome.html

Peter Espeut

Peter Espeut is a Jamaican chemist/zoologist and sociologist/natural resource manager working with local communities toward the sustainable development of Jamaica's south coast. As a rural development sociologist, Espeut spent many years studying small-scale farmers before turning to artisanal fishers. Now Espeut is executive director of the Caribbean Coastal Area Management (CCAM) Foundation, an environment and development NGO which will manage the newly declared Portland Bight Sustainable Development Area. CCAM's philosophy of natural resource management is an example for local and sustainable development of coastline.
http://www.ccam.org.jm/

Waterkeeper

All of the Waterkeeper programs in the U.S. reflect the needs of a water body and local community it represents. For each water body and community there is a full-time person who serves as the "keeper" " the public advocate for that body of water " part investigator, scientist, lawyer, lobbyist and public relations agent. It is an environmental advocacy model that can be adapted to protect local ecosystems, marine and terrestrial, around the world.
http://www.waterkeeper.org/