Professor Beth Lawrence, right, and student Madeline Kollegger collect data on Barn Island salt marsh. Credit: Emily Couture/UCONN College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources

Contact:

Jimena Perez-Viscasillas, NYSG Long Island Sound Study Outreach Coordinator, E: jbp255@cornell.edu, P: (631) 632-8730


New York Sea Grant adapted to the virtual environment to provide research-based educational resources on climate change

Stony Brook, NY, March 8, 2021 - As schools across the U.S. went virtual in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, teachers and educators faced the difficult challenge of having to quickly adapt to teaching online. To help address this need, New York Sea Grant (NYSG) and the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) national estuary program partnered to share new virtual resources for educators.

NYSG and LISS hosted a virtual workshop to showcase a newly-developed science module focused on the effects of climate change and sea level-rise on salt marshes. The workshop was led by ecologist Dr. Beth Lawrence of the University of Connecticut and New York State Master Teacher Kimberly “Ly” Williams, who had collaborated to develop the module as part of a LISS Research Grant to Lawrence. The module included five days of interactive activities including a “mystery scientist” video series, and several online resources many of which the presenters highlighted as part of the webinar.

Fifty-five participants, most of them teachers and educators, participated in the webinar and took part in a lively Q&A with the presenters. Comments from participants included “Looking forward to accessing the materials, sharing them with colleagues and using with students!” and “Terrific! Thank you for the time and great resources and ENTHUSIASM!!!” The participating educators will be reaching an estimated 5,300 students.

This webinar equipped teachers with useful new resources for bringing the science of climate change and salt marsh ecosystems into their virtual classrooms.

Project Partners:

• NEIWPCC
• Mercy College


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.