‘Lessons in Mariculture’ Earns Award for Excellence

Above: Flow-through aquaculture systems, or raceways. Illustration by Melissa D. Smith

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Katie Mosher, communications director, kmosher@ncsu.edu
Jane Harrison, coastal economics specialist, jane_harrison@ncsu.edu

Lessons in Mariculture, a set of 10 free educational resources published by North Carolina Sea Grant, has won an APEX Award for Excellence in the Campaigns, Programs & Plans – Education & Training category.

Marine aquaculture, or mariculture, is a growing industry in North Carolina. Designed for high schoolers, the lesson plans cover a variety of topics, such as aquaculture’s origins and different production methods. Most lessons entail a classroom presentation, group collaboration, a hands-on activity, or some combination.

“We wanted to create easy-to-use resources that educators in science and agriculture could seamlessly integrate into their curriculum,” says North Carolina Sea Grant coastal economist Jane Harrison, who led the project. “We’re honored that the APEX Awards recognized our efforts.”

Communications Concepts, Inc., advises publishing and marketing professionals and presents the APEX Awards for Publication Excellence. This year, the competition received 1,183 total entries, and 102 in the category of Campaigns, Programs & Plans.

The mariculture lesson plans are aligned with North Carolina science standards and Career and Technical Education programs. Each builds off knowledge gained through earlier lessons, but educators also can pick and choose to suit their curriculum.

“We hope that one big takeaway from this resource is that marine aquaculture is a huge field with many career opportunities,” says North Carolina Sea Grant marine education specialist Terri Kirby Hathaway, who worked on the project with Harrison.

The lesson-planning team also included high school science teacher Amy Sauls, North Carolina Sea Grant science writer Julie Leibach, National Sea Grant aquaculture manager Chuck Weirich, science illustrator Melissa Smith, graphic designer Kathy McKee, and high school teachers who helped to develop and field-test the resources.

To download the lessons, visit go.ncsu.edu/MaricultureLessons.

Related: Read about North Carolina Sea Grant’s Autumn 2019 issue of Coastwatch, which also received an APEX Award this year, and NC Coastal Landscaping: A Native Plant Guide, which won an APEX Award last year.

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