A Shoreline Tour in Hyde Park, Niagara Falls, NY. As part of her 2020 online teacher trainings related to environmental justice, NYSG former Coastal Literacy Specialist Monica Miles discussed student access to green space and how green spaces have an impact on their overall well-being, especially where communities in poverty and/or of color are less likely to have access to these very valuable environmental resources. More in “In Media: Sea Grant and Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper Hold an Online Teacher Training.”
Contact:
Monica L. Miles, Ph.D., NYSG Coastal Literacy Specialist, E: SGBuffal@cornell.edu
New York Sea Grant launched virtual professional development opportunities for teachers in the Great Lakes region in 2020
Buffalo, NY, March 8, 2021 - The COVID-19 pandemic created both stress and opportunity for educators. New York Sea Grant (NYSG) adapted its professional development training, previously offered in-person and at field sites, for K-12 teachers in the Great Lakes region to fit virtual access.
To accommodate COVID-19 safety restrictions in 2020, NYSG partnered with local environmental organizations to design a web-based teachers’ professional development workshop. A virtual training was held on the process of designing engaging stewardship projects for students, even during times of necessary remote or distance learning. Information was included on grant funding opportunities, and how to apply for funding independently and in partnership with environmental education nonprofits, higher education community programs, and/or state entities.
Twenty-one educators “logged on,” representing schools serving the New York communities of Buffalo, Belleville, Jamesville, Niagara Falls, Oswego, Rochester, and Syracuse. These educators reach more than 2,745 students with classes and programs. One hundred percent of the workshop participants reported increasing their knowledge on stewardship projects; 86% reported they were likely to implement a stewardship project that would include a remote/distance-learning option. Some concerns were expressed related to the pandemic and having less in-person time with students. Eighty percent of the participants wanted another workshop to explore ways to engage students remotely as a group.
This virtual training experience met a timely need for Great Lakes educators in New York State and identified other areas of interest for future NYSG programming in support of K-12 educators.
More Info: New York Sea Grant
New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University
and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based
programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
National Sea Grant College Program.
Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated
research, education and extension services promoting coastal community
economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness
and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.
Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists
and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based
information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries,
federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers,
educators, the media and the interested public.
The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY
Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office
in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook
University in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative
Extension in NYC and Elmsford and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.
For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.
