Education in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

New! Searchable Education Calendar of Events!

National Estuarine Research Reserves are federally designated "to enhance public awareness and understanding of estuarine areas, and provide suitable opportunities for public education and interpretation." The reserve system is one of only three programs within NOAA in which education is federally mandated, and the reserve system provides a range of educational programming to key audiences in reserve watersheds.

National Estuarine Research Reserves offer education and training for professionals who make decisions about coastal resources on a regular basis such as planners, conservation council members, resource managers and community leaders. The Coastal Training Program ensures that community members have the science-based information they need to make decisions about coastal resources.

In addition to targeting coastal decision makers, most reserves provide K-12 education, ranging from hands-on field experiences for students to professional teacher development opportunities. In addition, the reserves invite students and teachers to learn about estuaries by actively participating in the EstuaryLive program, an interactive field trip over the internet. These are great opportunities to learn, teach about estuaries, and engage students in activities that will excite them and get them to explore the estuarine environment. Reserve educators also provide regularly scheduled public programs and special events, and they are always eager to partner with schools, community-based organizations and volunteers. To search the NEW calendar of educational activities taking place at reserves, click this link.

To learn about a reserve visit the site-based pages, and to learn more about a specific reserve's educational program, visit the reserves that currently have an education website.

List of Reserves Ace Basin, SC Apalachicola, FL Chesapeake Bay, MD Chesapeake Bay, VA Delaware Elkhorn Slough, CA Grand Bay, MS Great Bay, NH GTM, FL Hudson River, NY Jacques Cousteau, NJ Jobos Bay, PR Kachemak Bay, AK Narragansett Bay, RI North Carolina N. Inlet-Winyah, SC Old Woman Crk, OH Padilla Bay, WA Rookery Bay, FL San Francisco, CA Sapelo Island, GA South Slough, OR Tijuana River, CA Waquoit Bay, MA Weeks Bay, AL Wells, ME

NERR Sites with Education Websites Elkhorn Slough, CA Great Bay, NH Jacques Cousteau, NJ Kachemak Bay, AK North Carolina North Inlet-Winyah Bay, SC Padilla Bay, WA Sapelo Island, GA South Slough, OR Tijuana River, CA Waquoit Bay, MA Wells, ME

For more information about education in the estuarine reserves, contact Atziri.Ibanez@noaa.gov.

To learn about results of an inventory done on the NERRS K-12 programs and the recommendations provided to improve program design and implementation, among others, read the Inventory and Assessment of K-12 and PTD Programs in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, Pandion Systems, Inc., 2003.

In the summer of 2007, more than one thousand classroom teachers and informal science educators shared their thoughts and opinions on teaching estuarine related topics via an online needs assessment. This assessment - which determined obstacles to teaching about estuaries, and teacherís preferences for accessing and utilizing various educational products - will shape the development of teaching and professional development materials about estuaries. This assessment was conducted by TERC, a non-profit educational research and development organization, and NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System. To read the final report on the survey results, please click here.