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Breaking Systemic Barriers

Education

Teachers use far more Coastwatch content in their classrooms than we’ve gathered here. These stories highlight educational outreach, and/or they provide special resources for teachers and students.

We’ve also launched a new educational feature for teachers and students in grades 6 to 12. Visit Coastwatch Classroom.

3 children holding hands on a beach.

Sep 18, 2023

The Untapped Resource: How Students Can Help Build Community Resiliency

As children learn through environmental education — and pass along what they discover to adults — the process equips young and old to take informed action.
image: J. Drew Lanham.

May 25, 2023

The Art of Being You: Ecology, Psychology, and the Art of Being You

Growing up on a family farm in Edgefield, South Carolina, Joseph Drew Lanham, “Drew,” to many, knew he wanted to be an ornithologist by the third grade. As a Black naturalist, writer, and MacArthur Fellow, Lanham chooses to combine science with blunt realities...

Mar 22, 2023

3D Research: Who Wants to Look at a Dead Whale?

Marine Mammals travel long distances and sometimes can become stranded or die in locations that are difficult to reach. Drones and 3D photography pique curiosity about large marine animals that have died in remote areas.

Sep 18, 2024

The Undersea Vision of Fabien Cousteau

PROTEUS™ — the undersea equivalent of the International Space Station — will speed scientific discovery and spur medical breakthroughs. 

Oct 16, 2024

Plastic from the Mountains to the Sea

Researchers and community members join forces on plastic pollution in North Carolina.

Dec 8, 2022

Our Coast, Our Future: The 2022 North Carolina Coastal Conference

They came to Raleigh from across North Carolina, discussed urgent and emerging issues affecting our coast, forged new ties, and literally devoured new research for lunch — and you can watch it here.

Nov 23, 2021

Podcasting a Wide Net

Student Journalists Offer Coastal Voices on Climate Change to a Worldwide Audience. "Our imaginations are broader than we think."

Sep 20, 2021

Coastwatch Classroom: The Watershed Wisdom Lesson Plan

As the pandemic continues to affect K-12 learning models, several thousand North Carolina teachers, students, and others already have accessed the free Watershed Wisdom online lesson plan.
Astronaut Zena Cardman

Jun 7, 2021

From Sea to Space: Astronaut Zena Cardman’s Love for Science is Out of this World

Marine scientist turned astronaut now serves in a NASA program designed to land the first woman on the moon -- and she’s eligible for missions to mars.
Kayelyn Simmons is a winner of a prestigious John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship from Sea Grant.

Mar 8, 2021

Breaking Systemic Barriers

Four stories from Black scientists about their first-hand experiences with systemic obstacles, their resilience, and their advice about how to move forward.