March 9, 2005

Meeting Notes

Attendees: Beth Trowbridge, Bree Murphy, Heather Beggs, Ginger Strong, Steve Hackett, Catie Bursch, Gale Parsons, Melonie Shipman, Lindsey Hallet, Diane Borgman, Carmen Field, Carol Swartz, Rick Foster

New Programs

Beth (CACS):             - Wynn Nature Center is open Sundays through April 3 (not Easter)

- Astronomy – next Wednesday with Toby Tyler 6:30 – 7:30 pm

- Winter Ecology school program – piloted next week

Thursday) with Fireweed Academy > snowshoes needed

- Beth is revising AK Oil Spill Curriculum (with PWSRCAC) >

needs reviewers to look at before the end of April (Steve & Diane

offered to review)

Heather (Pratt):           - summer internships > trying for TX (?) partners to help with

McNeil

- summer volcano camp

Bree (CACS):               - dock studies class as pre-field station visit activity > to

coordinate with Pratt’s history program on dock – Gale & Bree to

discuss

Carmen: KBRR can provide SERC invasive work spp. lists

Steve: please incorporate environmental conservation messages

Rick: engineers (?) interested in monitoring project

- new Crabs Onboard ½-day oceanography program > 4 hrs on

Rainbow Connection; 2^nd year working with KBRR on plankton

Steve(IDEA):                - likes new teacher planning website

- has set up homeschool science fair > very popular; usually in

March, but this year’s next week in Kenai (sometimes in Homer

or Seward, too)

- leads Roadside Geology during Earth Sciences Week > 2^nd week

of May this year (Turnagain Pass to Seward to Homer)

Carmen: offered assistance with coastal erosion/sediment

transport info

Ginger (Rainbow Tours):     - humpback whale fluke ID website done for Lower Cook

Inlet / Barren Islands whales > 338 individuals identified so

far; goal = internship (seeking support) for doing onboard

research & education to connect to Hawaii whales

- will be doing Barren Island only trips this year (new), not

including stop in Seldovia > about 10 times during summer,

depending on tides; other days going to Seldovia; down

the road perhaps landing on Barrens with permit

Gale (Pratt):                   - April 15 program by Jenny Ross on polar bears from 7 – 9 pm +

2-day wildlife photography workshop/seminar on April 16-17 >

cost: $195

- 2-day remote camera training for teachers (FOCUS workshop) in

summer (June 13-17, 2005)

discussion about totes for education kits

Beth: highly recommended Refuge kit, especially for plane travel

- WHIZ Kids ongoing this winter

- now has middle school intern working with Lindsey during last

hour of school

- looking for high school after-school intern (computer savvy)

- SAP program still being planned for summer

- no archeology field trip this summer, but possibly week camping

at Augustine for volcano camp

Melonie (AMNWR):   - in Unalaska 2 – 3 times / year for ~ 1 week at a time > ideas for

there include teacher workshop & sharing oil spill info

- next week is Bering Sea workshop (Mon – Thu)

- Selengdang Ayu: Refuge back out in April/May to do clean-

up; creating website for teachers to access curriculum-related

info on this new spill

- Coastwalk: working this fall with CACS to coordinate (related

to Marine Debris program)

- special homeschool shorebird viewing program this spring

- Saturday kids (11 am) & adult (3 pm) movies > needs ideas for

kids movies

- Earth Day coming up

Diane (KBLC):              - 2 and ½ day programs continuing this spring, starting April 27

- offering dock walk for students on Tues and Thurs (any time of

day; per request) & tourists, looking at boats & commercial

fishing aspect + Gull Island  tour for birds (3 hrs)

Bree: offered to help coordinate dock tours of CACS, Pratt &

KBLC

- Diane recommends other KBEEA-member programs to her

programs’ participants

Diane: recommended that ed coordinators meet in fall to compare

programming & visititation of spring EE groups to learn

about organizations

Carol (KPC-KBC):       - hosting Stream Team Water Quality Monitoring in April for

KBEEA

- new science lab opened ~ 10 days ago

- fall program development: 1) 3-credit oceanography class team-

taught by Scott Pegau & Judy Hamilton and 2) weekend

mycology class with Gary Larsen from UAF

Carmen (KBRR):          - I&O Homeschool Day coming up on April 13

- Discovery Labs will be offered 3 times per week this summer

- ed staff working on invertebrate inventory for southern coast of

AK > currently focusing on spp. important to humans

- CTP Floodplain workshop coming up in Seward March 31 &

April 1

KBEEA Outreach Committee Report

Carmen:                         - Melonie working with Carla Stanley on KBEEA banner > hope to

finish by mid-April

- rack card hopefully finished by mid-April, too

COLLABORATIONS

Partners in Education

Beth:                             - started last summer when coordinating on cooperative calendar

- made up of 4 organizations: Pratt, CACS, Refuge, Reserve

- 1^st event was February’s Winter Carnival event at Pratt; 2^nd event

will be March 24 PlanktonFest at I&O

Kayak Festival

Diane:                           - Kids’ Day at Kayak Festival on May 26

- keynote speakers and puppet show on May 28 and 29

- CACS activities on May 28

- movies on May 27

Microscopic Ocean Art & Nature – exhibit opens April 8 and runs through June 6, 2005

- poster text due to Gale from KBRR

- Coffee Table scheduled

Teacher Trainings – group looked over list of current trainings scheduled (handout)

Day of Science - committee: Gale, Lindsey, Melonie, Bree, Steve, and Diane

- 1^st Day of Science will be week of Sept. 26 in Seldovia

- all agreed on 1^st planning meeting to be held on April 14 at 9 am in I&O classroom

Homer Eco-tourism Marketing group

Heather:                       - passed around 2 handouts

- discussed “over marketing” of Homer (fishing capital, arts, eco-

tourism)

- next membership/annual meeting will be April 28

Spring Coastal Clean-up

Steve:                           - will 2 times / year work?

- Coastwalk packet could be given to Refuge Marine Debris

program’s students for stewardship activity (CACS staff: CACS

could provide packets)

- could add to homeschool programming at I&O, make part of

SeaWeek activities (if classes visit local beaches)

- could be incentive for next year’s booking (ie. best dates/low

tides reserved for participants)

Tidepool Guides

Bree:                            - Sunday, April 10 is AK Coastal Ecology program training with

CACS staff > offered for all CACS volunteers but KBEEA members

are invited to join training (let Bree know by March 31 if you

intend to come)

Catie:                           - she’s making buttons with KBEEA logo for tidepool guides

Diane: Have there been noticeable impacts to beaches? Group

discussion came to conclusion that not much documented.

KBay Science Conference

Ideas: have a mini-conference with high school students and teacher training (such as for ShoreZone Mapping)

Coastweeks

- Group decided on “Coastal Changes” as this year’s theme. Dates will be Sep. 24 – Oct. 8, beginning with National Estuaries Day and wrapping up with the Science Conference.

- Ideas for events to include: group dock tour, Discovery Lab, report on Unalaska oil  spill

- Beth will be master calendar creator

Comments

Steve: homeschool needs and evaluation are important

Lindsey: will be gone after April 20