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Marine trash data the basis
for new science curricula
Volunteers regularly help to pick up litter and marine debris that has washed up on the sandy and rocky beaches of New Hampshire. Staff members of the Blue Ocean Society, based in Portsmouth, N.H., organize the monthly beach cleanups and work closely with N.H. Sea Grant and UNH Cooperative Extension on the Marine Debris to Energy Program. Photo Credit: Jen Kennedy, Blue Ocean Society |
School teachers are working closely with the University of New Hampshire and the Blue Ocean Society to incorporate information about marine debris into their lesson plans. Marine debris can include derelict commercial fishing gear that floats offshore, litters the ocean bottom or washes up on beaches. Debris also includes human trash, such as cigarette butts and plastic bags, that washes out to sea.
A group of teachers from the Seacoast and further inland spent time aboard the UNH vessel R/V Gulf Challenger to learn how side-scan sonar detects marine debris. The boat towed a torpedo-shaped sonar device along the Portsmouth Harbor while teachers watched visuals of the seabed on the onboard computer screen.
A follow-up workshop allowed those teachers to brainstorm ways to incorporate ocean pollution data into their lesson plans.
 Volunteers regularly help to pick up litter and marine debris that has washed up on the sandy and rocky beaches of New Hampshire. Staff members of the Blue Ocean Society, based in Portsmouth, N.H., organize the monthly beach cleanups and work closely with N.H. Sea Grant and UNH Cooperative Extension on the Marine Debris to Energy Program. Photo Credit: Jen Kennedy, Blue Ocean Society |
 Derelict commercial fishing gear is collected in dumpsters near the N.H. Seacoast as part of the Marine Debris to Energy Program, sponsored by NOAA. |
This local effort is part of the Marine Debris to Energy Program, a nationwide program sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that takes derelict fishing gear and marine pollution and combusts it into energy. N.H. Sea Grant and UNH Cooperative Extension are collaborating with the non-profit organization the Blue Ocean Society to help facilitate the program’s progress. The program has resulted in the collection of more than seven tons of debris thus far, said Ken La Valley, commercial fisheries specialist for N.H. Sea Grant and UNH Cooperative Extension.
At the workshop, teachers formulated suggestions for science curricula revolving around marine debris. They worked with the web site www.nhmarinedebris.org, which offers tools such as GIS maps and data, allowing the user to search by beach location or debris type to learn about the quantity of pollution near the Seacoast. The web site also features video clips of marine debris taken from the sonar tows.
“We want to increase the awareness of resources for marine debris lesson planning,” Wiley said. “This subject will lend itself to math and statistics lessons quite well.”
 Side-scan sonar towed behind a research boat in Portsmouth Harbor reveals an old shipwreck covered with lobster pots. The pots likely became ensnared on the ship during a storm and were never recovered. |
Younger students might use the information on the web site to simply make the connection between human activities and impacts on the ocean, Wiley added.
“It’s exciting to see what creative curriculum ideas the teachers came up with,” Wiley said. The finalized lesson plans will be available on the web site in the upcoming months.
For more information about the teaching curriculum, please contact Ken La Valley at 603.862.4343 or ken.lavalley@unh.edu.
February 25, 2010
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