FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 12, 2008

Contact: Sarah Marquis, National Marine Sanctuaries, 949-222-2212
Ben Sherman, NOAA Public Affairs, 301-713-3066

NOAA Offers Grants for California Schools to Become Ocean Guardians

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries announced today it is offering “Ocean Guardian” grants of up to $6,000 to a number of California schools whose students create a school or community-based conservation project that protects their local watershed and the ocean.

Kindergarten through high schools are eligible in the California counties of Marin, San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. A total of $100,000 is being made available through the grant program.

“California can set a great example for schools nationwide by promoting environmental conservation in their local community with funding from the Ocean Guardian School project,” said Seaberry Nachbar of the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

In return for taking steps to protect the ocean, each school will receive funds to implement its project and a plaque designating it as an Ocean Guardian School. Funding will range from $2,000 to $6,000, depending on the scope of the conservation project proposed by the school. Examples of conservation projects include planting school gardens or nature corridors with native plants, initiating recycling programs to reduce litter, and working with communities to address water quality issues in local watersheds that lead to the ocean.

Interested schools can register by e-mail to receive an application and guidelines on how to create an action plan for implementing an Ocean Guardian School project by contacting Seaberry.Nachbar@noaa.gov.

For more information, visit http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/ocean_guardian.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

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On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov

NOAA National Ocean Service: http://www.oceanservice.noaa.gov

Ocean Guardian Schools Program: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/ocean_guardian