Estuaries.gov - NERRS Education Bulletin

	It seems in the world of estuaries education, the warm weather has brought many exciting changes and opportunities to grow and improve. For example, the education program of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System will have a new face soon with the launching of our brand new website www.estuaries.gov. This new site will contain all the useful information you have come to rely on, plus so much more. We are sure you'll love it. Look for the new site to be live online at the end of July. Another example of change for the better can be found with our EstuaryLive program - the live, interactive field trips of estuaries broadcast via the Internet. Traditionally, EstuaryLive was broadcast in the fall to correspond with the celebration of National Estuaries Day. However, educators have noted that this is a difficult time of year and have suggested the broadcast be held in the spring. We've listened and made the change! The next EstuaryLive will be held in the spring of 2009. And the growth doesn't stop there! We are excited to offer you our new Estuaries 101 curriculum. Final touches are being added to the curriculum now and it will be posted at the time our new website goes live. We hope the warm weather brings you many opportunities for growth and we wish you a lovely summer.

Estuaries.Gov Near Launch

The new and improved Estuaries.gov will be launched at the end of June. We are extremely excited about the new site. It’s fresh, fun and modern. Full of useful information on estuaries! Specifically, the new site includes sections for teachers, students, interested volunteers, data users and the general public packed full of estuary facts and challenges, stories, data tools, teaching resources (including the new Estuaries 101 curriculum) and ways to get involved. Keep and eye out for an announcement when the new site is live!

Featured Educational Resources

Teachers Wanted to Pilot Module Sea Level - Grades 6-8
Researchers believe that sea level is rising worldwide. But how are water levels monitored and measured? The Data in the Classroom website features five activities at different levels to help you learn and teach about sea level using real data. If you would like to help test and evaluate this module, please visit the Data in the Classroom website to register and download the Sea Level module.

Coming up soon! We will also pilot a Water Quality Module that features water quality data generated from NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve real time monitoring stations. This module will encourage students to study the data of representative estuarine ecosystems to highlight the complexity and richness of living systems that exist in estuaries. We will let you know as soon as this module becomes available.

Each module consists of a teacher's guide that you can download and print, and Web pages that you and your students can use to access real scientific data. Each module also includes an online survey to be completed after you have used the materials. Completing each module and survey is worth 2 continuing education credits (CEUs) awarded by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. You can earn up to 6 CEUs for participating.

Data Corner

Report Finds Restoration Needed to Retain Valuable Coastal Areas
A recent report from Restore America's Estuaries and The Ocean Foundation shows that the nations coasts generate high economic value, but that this value is in jeopardy without restoration and protection. The report was written to call attention to the need for a national investment in protecting and restoring vital coastal environments to help grow America's employment, tourism, trade capabilities, and recreational and commercial fisheries. The report is available through Restore America's Estuaries' website (www.estuaries.org) and is the first step in a longer-term effort by the organization to make the economic value of restoration a more integral part of coastal planning and management. Restore America's Estuaries and The Ocean Foundation's Coastal Ocean Values Center have embarked on new research with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Restoration Center to develop methods to quantify the economic returns from coastal restoration with a pilot project set to begin in Southern California's Santa Monica Bay this June.

Reports from SWMP Regional Data Studies Now Online
The National Estuarine Research Reserve’s (NERRS) System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) provides environmental data to support the assessment of coastal resource management challenges at the national, regional, and local levels. With funding from the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET), NERRS research teams applied SWMP data to priority coastal management issues in four regions: the Pacific Coast, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast.

Each study summarized and interpreted SWMP data, relevant research, and monitoring datasets at the scale of the individual reserve and that of the region. The studies also included data collected from other regional programs, demonstrating the benefits of coordinating SWMP data with other regional research and monitoring datasets.

Results from these studies enhanced the toolkit used to manage and analyze vast quantities of environmental data at reserves, provided necessary assessments of regional water quality and habitat trends, and clarified the impacts of natural processes and human activities on coastal ecosystems. The reports for these studies are now available online at http://ciceet.unh.edu/news/releases/swmp_report/swmp_report.html.

EPA Announces Release of Indicator Development for Estuaries Manual
The "Indicator Development for Estuaries" manual is designed to improve measuring progress in the National Estuary Program estuaries and other estuaries. It is organized to provide the user with a logical, stepwise process for developing and implementing indicators for the estuarine environment. Indicators can provide cost-effective information on the status and trends of a system, the effectiveness of management actions and allow for mid-course corrections. Indicators also provide information to inform diverse audiences including environmental managers, scientists, resource managers and the public on the status and progress of restoration efforts. The manual is available at http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/indicators/index.html.

Exciting Opportunities

Ocean Art Contest for Students
NOAA's partner, Coastal America, through their Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center (CELC) members, are sponsoring an ocean art contest open to students in grades K-12 and college and university students The contest is nationwide. Entries should be submitted to a CELC near you, which can be found at www.coastalamerica.gov.

The purpose of the contest is to enhance public awareness of the importance of the ocean through visual expression and incorporating one of the principles of ocean literacy. The winning artwork will be displayed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in time for the opening of The Ocean Hall. You and your children or local schools or organizations can be a part of this contest. Find out how at: http://www.coastalamerica.gov/2008artcontest.html. Entries are due by May 30, 2008. Attached is a flier with more information on the contest.

May is American Wetlands Month
EPA will once again celebrate American Wetlands Month in May with federal, state, tribal, local, non-profit, and private sector organization partners. This annual celebration is a time to recognize and highlight the wonderful ways that wetlands enrich the environment and human society.

In organizing its activities this year, EPA is placing special emphasis on encouraging Americans to learn about wetlands, explore a wetland near you and take action to protect and restore wetlands. For general American Wetlands Month information and to find American Wetlands Month events planned in your state, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/awm.

Volume 3, Issue 2, May 22, 2008

In this Edition

	Estuaries.Gov Near Launch
	Featured Educational Resources
	Data Corner
	Exciting Opportunities

	National Estuaries Day
	Mark you calendar! National Estuaries Day is September 28th.

Upcoming Conferences

National Marine Educator's Conference (July 21-25, 2008 in Savannah, GA)

	Join us! You will find several estuarine sessions led by NERRS education coordinators
	Visit one of our local reserves, Sapelo Island NERR
	Don't forget! This will be a "green" conference, so travel light and bring your own mug.

Calendar of Events

Visit the Calendar of Events for various teacher, students and field activities.

Green Eggs and San Workshop:

Type: Teacher Training
Date: June 20-22
Topic: Explore the Atlantic Coast horseshoe crab/shorebird phenomenon and management controversy

Contact: Jennifer Holmes

Junior Naturalist Program

Type: K-12 Education Program
Dates: June 18 through August 6, 2008

Contact: Lori Davis

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