Education in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

National Estuarine Research Reserves are federally designated "to serve 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 that 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 teacher training programs, using established curricula aligned with state standards. Reserve educators provide regularly scheduled public programs and special events, and they are always eager to partner with schools, community-based organizations and volunteers. Learn more about these activities by reviewing Inventory and Assessment of K-12 and PTD Programs in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, Pandion Systems, Inc., 2003.

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System partners with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other non-profit groups in leading the National Estuaries Day celebration, an interagency campaign to promote the importance of estuaries and need to protect them. The featured event is EstuaryLive. For more information, visit estuaries.gov.

To learn more about a specific reserve's educational programs, visit the site-based pages.

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, FLSan Francisco, CA Sapelo Island, GA South Slough, OR Tijuana River, CA Waquoit Bay, MA Weeks Bay, AL Wells, ME

For more information about education in the estuarine reserves, contact kate.barba@noaa.gov.