COSEE-OLC and our web design partner Locus Interactive are happy to announce the development of our community microsite.  Please join us in previewing our upcoming new web site and be among the first to sign up for our electronic community.

Join the OLC community.

COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities and Washington Sea Grant invite you to join us for a free event Saturday November 22nd from 9:00am - 4:00pm at the Husky Union Building on the University of Washington Seattle campus. The day will include a keynote speaker on communicating science with various audiences, formal and informal presentations by marine scientists on current research, training on how to collect and contribute data to the ongoing “Spices in Puget Sound” research with your own “spice sampling kit”, and many opportunities to create connections between marine scientists and marine volunteers around communicating science and research. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided. Due to the overwhelming response by people in the community our workshop is now full and the registration has closed. We thank you for your interest in this program and hope that you will be able to join us at a future event.  For questions please contact Susan Bullerdick at susan@aquariumsociety.org.

COSEE-OLC is proud to partner with Washington SeaGrant and the Puget Sound Partnership to host a workshop highlighting opportunities in Citizen Science. We are in the planning phase for the workshop. Look for more information posted to our website this fall.

With the launch of NOAA’s ship Okeanos Explorer, marine education and exploration enters a new era.  This week NOAA hosts an Education Forum to develop plans for educational use of the new ship.  COSEE representation at this important forum include eleven current or former COSEE members.  OLC’s own Phil Bell is giving a presentation titled ‘How People Learn with New Technologies and OImplications for the Okeanos Explorer Education Program”.  Read more about the Okeanos Explorer.

Rick Keil, one of the COSEE-OLC researchers, has been evaluating how materials are transferred from urban homes to the sea.  Usually the compounds of interest are fun and safe (cooking spices).  However, last fall he teamed with esteemed researcher Anne Steinemann to evaluate the ‘nasties’ and their flow to the ocean.  Anne has just published a new work (conducted before she and Rick began teaming up) focussing on emerging pollutants found in households.  Anne, professor of civil and environmental engineering and public affairs, analyzed three air fresheners – a solid deodorizer disk, a liquid spray, and a plug-in oil – and three laundry products – a dryer sheet, fabric softener, and a detergent to determine if there were any regulated but unlableled compounds in the household materials.  [Read more →]

COSEE-OLC is launching an initiative to add COSEE information to the Wikipedia.   Until the start of this initiative, there was no information in the World’s largest Encyclopedia about COSEE, its missions, or the themes of ocean education.  You can help.  [Read more →]

The ocean acidification research bill passed the U.S. House yesterday. H.R. 4174, a top priority for oceans advocates, would create a new program to research and monitor the effects of ocean acidification on the marine environment. The House approved it by voice vote. 

[Read more →]