Education & Training

The National Marine Protected Areas Center offers links to education materials and training opportunities to increase understanding and awareness of MPAs among government agencies, coastal and marine educators, and their audiences.

A slide presentation describes the MPA Center’s previous education project: MPA Education Project presentation (pdf, 287 kb)

Other MPA Education Resources Include:

Information Exchange for Marine Educators
Education Materials
Education Workshops
Contact Information

Information Exchange for Marine Educators
This monthly e-newsletter, supported by the NOAA Office of Education, is intended to improve the availability of education information to MPA practitioners and the public, encourage exchange of information and programs, and promote collaboration among educators. It includes information about marine education programs and activities, professional development opportunities, and funding sources. It also includes a section for the educators to post requests for information. The email provides a brief overview of each program along with a website or contact information for more information.

This information has been compiled from many different public sources, including web searches, extracting from Listservs such as NSTA Express, edinfo at FREE, CREEC, EEinGEORGIA, EE-NEWS @NAAEE, and others. The Department of Commerce/NOAA does not necessarily endorse the views expressed or the facts presented on the program sites. While every attempt has been made to verify the website addresses when the monthly email is sent, we cannot guarantee the continued accuracy of website addresses.

The posted version of each file is formatted for convenient printing. The monthly email update is sent out as a Microsoft Word© document, containing active links to the different websites. If you'd like to receive the monthly update, please send a blank message to requests@willamette.nos.noaa.gov with "subscribe infoexchange" in the subject field.

Current Issue of Information Exchange for Marine Educators - July (pdf, 60 kb)

Education Programs, Activities, and Websites A-M (pdf, 904 kb)
Education Programs, Activities, and Websites N-Z (pdf, 808 kb)
Grants and Funding (pdf, 660 kb)
Internship and Temporary Opportunities (pdf, 151 kb)
Journals (pdf, 43 kb)
Marine Protected Area Information (pdf, 44 kb)
Requests for Information (pdf, 133 kb)
Workshops and Professional Development (pdf, 557 kb)
Conferences (pdf, 216 kb)

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Education Resources on the Web
There are many educational materials available that are pertinent to MPA education. Materials about habitat, biodiversity, fisheries, and many other topics are relevant to MPAs. A nationally recognized ocean science Web site for teachers is the BRIDGE Web site. The links that are referenced in the site have been reviewed by scientists for scientific content, and by teachers for usefulness of the content. The BRIDGE Web site provides a comprehensive list of marine education curricula and activities.

The MPA Library is an extensive resource that provides an MPA bibliography of articles and books, along with listings and links to institutions and organizations that focus on MPA management, research and policies. In addition, it provides a convenient listing of upcoming conferences and links to the conference Web sites.

The MPA Education Poster, with Illustrations Created by Jim Toomey
The MPA education poster, developed with the generous support of Sherman’s Lagoon cartoonist Jim Toomey, highlights some of the different types of marine protected areas designated by federal agencies. The poster graphics emphasize the broad geographic distribution of MPAs throughout the United States. The individual cartoon panels underscore the different values provided by MPAs, such as biodiversity conservation and cultural resource protection. The poster is available for educational purposes by contacting mpainfo@noaa.gov.

The MPA poster highlights some of the different marine protected areas designated by federal agencies. The artwork was contributed by cartoonist Jim Toomey.

Companion materials have been developed to accompany the poster. The first piece provides information specific to each of the MPA sites shown on the poster, along with Web links for more in-depth information.

MPA Education Poster Site Descriptions (pdf, 1240 kb)

A second piece, designed to help educators use the poster to introduce MPAs to their students, provides background material about MPAs and a series of questions that can be used to lead a discussion on some of the resources protected by MPAs.

MPA Poster Activity Sheet (pdf, 224 kb)

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Education Workshops
In 2001 and 2002, the MPA Center held a series of regional workshops designed for educators and education intermediaries from the National Estuarine Research Reserves, National Marine Sanctuaries, the National Sea Grant College Program, Department of the Interior programs, non-governmental organizations, aquaria, science museums, and similar institutions. Special effort was made to include educators from a broad range of regional programs to foster networking and an exchange of ideas. The workshops were designed to:

• increase awareness and understanding of MPA issues, different types of MPAs and their management, and the value of MPAs;
  
• promote the inclusion of MPA themes and messages in existing and new marine and coastal education programs;
  
• foster development of inter-agency education partnerships; and
  
• solicit recommendations from educators and education intermediaries about additional support that the MPA Center could provide.
  

For an executive summary of the findings from the workshops and our response, click here. (pdf, 94 kb) Each workshop summary is also available below. Presentations from the workshop are available for review. You may use them as they stand, or adapt them for your use. Please click here for the workshop presentation page.

MPA Education Workshop Reports
The MPA Center held a series of education workshops for coastal and marine educators in 2001 and 2002. Links to workshop reports are found here.

Wye River (pdf, 112 kb)

The East Coast regional workshop was held on November 19-20, 2001, at The Aspen Institute's Wye River Conference Center on Maryland's eastern shore. It drew participants from programs from New Hampshire to South Carolina. Presentations included the goals and activities of the National MPA Center; the National Academy of Science's report on MPA benefits and limitations; Sea Web's report on American public attitudes towards MPAs; and Social Science and MPA Management

Morro Bay (pdf, 259 kb)

This West Coast regional workshop was held on September 3-5, 2002, at The Inn at Morro Bay west of San Luis Obispo, California. It drew participants from programs from Alaska to California. The presentations included overviews of National MPA efforts, natural and social science of MPAs and SeaWeb’s report on American attitudes.

Two Harbors (pdf, 268 kb)

This Great Lakes regional workshop was held on September 25-27, 2002, at The Two Harbors Resort and Conference Center, outside of Duluth, MN. It drew participants from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The presentations included overviews of the National MPA Center, natural and social MPA science and research efforts, and SeaWeb’s report on American attitudes towards marine reserves.

For More Information
mpainfo@noaa.gov

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