| NOAA 2002-R141 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Crystal Straughn 9/17/02 |
NOAA News Releases 2002 NOAA Home Page NOAA Public Affairs |
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Chesapeake Bay Office awarded four grants totaling $250,000 to NOAA Sea Grant programs located in the Chesapeake Bay region. This consortium of Sea Grant programs will provide teachers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with courses that use a hands-on approach to learning about the Bay watershed environment. “We are encouraging teachers to learn how to better use the Chesapeake Bay environment as a teaching tool that makes a student’s environmental education experience more meaningful. We hope our courses in environmental education reinforce a teacher’s ability to in turn inspire young people to connect to their watershed and strengthen an ethic of responsible citizenship – which may improve the Bay ecosystem," said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad Lautenbacher, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA is proud to be a part of this program to provide teachers with such a unique and beneficial educational opportunity.” This award comes as part of a larger effort of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office’s Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program. The B-WET Program provides environmental education to students, teachers and communities throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Funded projects support organizations that provide meaningful outdoor experiences to students, as well as professional development opportunities for teachers in the area of environmental education. This educational initiative spans the Chesapeake Bay watershed by partnering NOAA Sea Grant programs and universities in four Bay watershed states: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The program includes seven courses, five seminars, and 14 research fellowships, led by scientists at university campuses and environmental laboratories around the watershed. Collectively these activities offer a unique opportunity for teachers in the Chesapeake Bay region to increase their research experiences and develop environmentally based activities and curriculum in the classroom. “The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries should be considered a living classroom,” said Lowell Bahner, director of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, “The Bay provides a source of environmental knowledge that can be used to help advance student learning skills and problem-solving abilities across the entire school curriculum.” NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov. The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office coordinates NOAA’s capabilities in support of a sustainable Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, integrating expertise of NOAA and partner organizations to guide management actions affecting fisheries, habitat resources of the Bay, and environmental education efforts. For more information, contact: NOAA
Chesapeake Bay Office |