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1. Home
2. Education
3. Planet Stewards Projects
4. 2023 Educator Stewardship Projects

2023 Educator Stewardship Projects Hands-on projects with background information, supporting materials, and student worksheets available to download and adapt.




*Educators who completed projects supported by NOAA Planet Stewards share their stories, innovations, and resources you may find useful in your own education setting in The Earth Scientist — a peer reviewed science education journal of The National Earth Science Teachers Association. The articles include links to background information, supporting materials, and student worksheets available for you to download and adapt. They reflect the enthusiasm, hard work and success of educators, their students, and communities. Find out how you can receive support from NOAA Planet Stewards to carry out a stewardship project.*  View 2022 Educator Stewardship Projects
                       View 2021 Educator Stewardship Projects
				
					View 2019 Educator Stewardship Projects
                    
                    	View 2016 Educator Stewardship Projects
  Projects from the Spring and Summer 2023 editions of The Earth Scientist  **Projects from Spring 2023**
			
					
            
			Advocates for Change
			Every day, people use and discard single-use plastic items, many of which make
their way to coastal areas as marine debris. As the population of Vero Beach, Florida
continues to grow, so does our community’s potential to use and discard single-use
plastics unless something is done to inspire our members of our community to
switch to more sustainable options. Through this project, funded by the NOAA
Planet Stewards, middle and high school youth volunteers at the Environmental
Learning Center in Vero Beach collected over 200 pounds of marine debris from
local waterways. A large portion of this debris was plastics in various sizes
and forms, ranging from plastic forks, beach toys, and candy wrappers to tiny,
unidentifiable fragments. After collecting and analyzing the debris, the youth were
given the platform to educate others about the causes and impact of marine debris
and single-use plastics. They created an advocacy video for younger students and an
artful, interactive display that incorporated all of the plastic they collected during
their beach clean-ups. Together, these two advocacy pieces show the impact that
youth can have in addressing environmental issues through direct stewardship
action and by using their unique perspective to educate and inspire others to take
action in our local community.
				
			
			
			interactive exhibit on display at the ELC’s visitor center. “Wave of Garbage” interpretive, interactive exhibit on display at the ELC’s visitor center.
			
			About the Author
		**Amy Durham Shea** became a Planet Steward in 2020 while working as an environmental educator
at the Environmental Learning Center in Vero Beach, FL. She has an undergraduate degree in
psychology from the University of Arkansas, a master’s degree in education from Vanderbilt University,
and professional certificates in free-choice learning and fisheries management from Oregon State
University. She is a Certified Interpretive Guide and Certified Interpretive Trainer through the National
Association of Interpretation and a member of the National Network of Ocean and Climate Change
Interpretation. She has worked in a variety of formal and informal educational settings since she
relocated to Florida from Arkansas over twelve years ago. She enjoys educating people of all ages
about fisheries, climate change, marine and estuarine ecosystems, and local Florida habitats through
place-based experiences and has a strong interest in understanding how different messaging
approaches impact people’s perceptions of environmental issues. Amy currently works as a Curator of
            Education Programs at Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, FL and can be reached at akdurham@gmail.com.

			Download: Advocates for Change
			

			
		
            
			Floating Wetlands for the Future
			High school student volunteers at the Virginia Living Museum, inspired by the
large amounts of litter they observed in their local waterways, wanted to complete
a project focused on eliminating pollution and creating habitat for native wildlife.
Through funding from NOAA Planet Stewards, the students learned about
freshwater ecosystems, wetland habitats, and aquatic pollution while designing,
building, and maintaining a floating wetland. During this project, the group worked
together to build research skills, collect chemical and physical water quality
data, remove pollution from the waterway, and develop an educational activity
to encourage others to learn about the importance of protecting the Earth’s finite
freshwater resources. At the conclusion of the project, students presented the
work from the project along with their educational activity to the public at multiple
events focused on the environment and conservation.
				
			
			
			The permanent educational signage installed in front of the floating wetland. Photo credit: Deanna OrrThe permanent educational signage installed in front of the floating wetland. (Photo credit: Deanna Orr)
			
			About the Author
            
            **Deanna Orr**, Conservation and Ambassador Animal Manager at the Virginia Living Museum, has 8
years of experience in conservation, informal science education, and environmental field work. She
received her Applied Global Conservation, B.S. from George Mason University. Before joining the
Virginia Living Museum, Deanna built career skills with the help of mentors at organizations including
the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, the Virginia Institute
of Marine Science, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. She enjoys hiking, kayaking,
relaxing at the beach, and improving her bird identification skills. Deanna can be contacted at deanna.
                orr@thevlm.org.
            
            **Additional support**: Alice Agnew (Virginia Living Museum), Bo Baker (Virginia Living Museum),
Emily Hoffman (Virginia Living Museum), Darl Fletcher (Virginia Living Museum), Meghan Garrity
(Virginia Living Museum), Emmylou Kidder (Christopher Newport University), Ben Thompson (Dramby
                Environmental Consulting), and Katie Lee (College of William and Mary).
        
			Download: Floating Wetlands for the Future
			
			
			
			
			
		
            
			Clean Up Crew:
Empowering Future Changemakers
			“Clean Up Crew: Empowering Future Changemakers” is a NOAA Planet Stewards
project designed to educate, inspire, and motivate students about marine debris
mitigation in the K-5 public school setting. This was a year-long project integrating
marine debris education, stewardship, and outreach with Next Generation Science
Standards (NGSS, 2013). Students embarked on a journey to understand and learn
how marine debris impacts our coastal community, school, and homes. Together, we
removed 327 pounds of trash from area beaches, completed more than 800 acts of
environmental stewardship, and shared our learning with our community through
outreach and art. Students applied STEM principles throughout the project to
address marine debris through personal and civic action to improve our world.
				
			
			
			The walls of our media center were transformed and used to showcase the importance of our waterways, marine animals, and marine ecosystems. The walls of our media center were transformed and used to showcase the importance of our waterways, marine animals, and marine ecosystems. Recycled materials were integrated into a whimsical wonderland where Ms. Frizzle is in a submarine alongside sharks reading books and sea turtles nesting on beaches.
			
			About the Author
            **Kelley Hodges** is a Science Intervention Teacher at Patronis Elementary School and an Adjunct Professor of Science Education at Florida State University-Panama City. She lives in Panama City Beach, Florida, and is in her 20th year of teaching. Her career in education includes
teaching college, high school, middle school, and elementary school science and mathematics. Her current role at Patronis Elementary
School includes hands-on inquiry-based science instruction for students in grades 3, 4, and 5 and science instructional support and
guidance for all classroom teachers. Since joining Patronis Elementary School, she has secured funding to support science instruction and
environmental education and developed a schoolwide environmental stewardship program focused on marine debris and its impact on
marine ecosystems. She established a multi-age First LEGO League robotics program at Patronis supporting efforts to bring coding, robotics,
fun, and core values to young learners. Her work in the community includes curriculum development and teacher training for STEM in a Box,
a joint effort between Florida State University and the Navy Lab-Panama City. Kelley earned a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Physiology and
Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego and a Master’s Degree in Science Education from Florida State University. Kelley
                can be reached at hodgekc@bay.k12.fl.us or khodges1993@comcast.net.

			Download: Clean Up Crew:
Empowering Future Changemakers
			
			
    
			
			Beaumont Rain and Butterfly Garden
			Beaumont Middle School (BMS) wanted to increase the capacity of the current rain
garden to better handle the stormwater runoff that was coming from the main
section of the parking lot. By increasing the size of the rain garden system through
funding from the NOAA Planet Stewards, we were able to increase the capacity to
catch, mitigate and filter stormwater runoff from a large impermeable surface,
the main section of a parking lot. This project gave students the opportunity to
investigate science in a real-world setting.
			
          
			ruce Hutcheson, President of Friends of Wolf Run, comes in to talk with our rain garden club about the importance of the rain garden on the Wolf Run watershed. Bruce Hutcheson, President of Friends of Wolf Run, comes in to talk with our rain garden club about the importance of the rain garden on the Wolf Run watershed.
			About the Author
            
            **Patrick Goff** is a 23 year veteran science teacher
who works at Beaumont Middle School in Lexington,
KY. He has his BS in Secondary Ed Earth/Space
Science and a Masters in Administration and
Supervision along with his National Boards Science/
Early Adolescence. He has helped to oversee the
installation and expansion of the rain gardens at
                our school. Patrick can be reached at patrick.goff@fayette.kyschools.us.
            
            
            **Kyla Trahan** is a 19 year veteran teacher with
Beaumont Middle School located in Lexington, KY.
Kyla teaches 6th grade science, has a Bachelor’s
Degree in Elementary Education 1-8 with an add on
of PreK- K, a Master’s Degree in Arts of Elementary
Education, and a Rank 1 in Educational Technology.
                Kyla can be reached at kyla.trahan@fayette.kyschools.us.
            
    
 Download: Beaumont Rain and Butterfly Garden
          
    
    
			
			
			
			
			Keepers of Turtle Island
            
			Keepers of Turtle Island, a clan of Indigenous students, was an initiative to learn
more about sustainable practices, revitalize Traditional Ecological Knowledge
(TEK) with our Native American communities, and actively engage in stewardship
of our environment. This NOAA Planet Stewards project was designed to address
the damage caused to the environment in terms of the loss of biodiversity and the
growing threat to ecosystems and cultural heritage. One of the main challenges
that the project addressed was the decreasing number of pollinators due to various
factors including the eradication of native plants such as milkweed. The project
restored habitats for pollinators by growing native plants, which provide ecosystem
services and opportunities for students to learn about them. The project also focused
on reducing carbon emissions and sequestering carbon. By braiding Indigenous
Science perspectives into environmental education, the project emphasized relations,
responsibility, and stewardship towards the environment. The program engaged
middle and high school students in calculating their carbon footprints, planting a
native pollinator garden, and learning about the local ecosystem and climate through
their Indigenous cultures. The project’s partners collaborated with the students to
design the garden space and donated native plant species. The project also involved
cultural educational experiences to bridge learning about Indigenous culture
and science and build participants’ climate literacy. The Keepers of Turtle Island
project provided culturally relevant and sustaining science learning experiences,
built community, and limited the effects of climate change by integrating education,
culture, and community approaches informed by Indigenous knowledge.
			
			Students planting native plants. Students planting native plants. (Photo credit: Amelia Cook).
			About the Author
            **Ameila Cook** is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation,
Science Education doctoral student at the University
of Oklahoma, and high school science educator in
Oklahoma. Amelia is a teacher ambassador with
the National Center for Science Education, EcoRise,
                and a NOAA Planet Steward. Ameila can be reached at ameliacook@ou.edu.
            
            	Download: Keepers of Turtle Island
         
		
		    
		          
			Seminole High School Landscape Architectural Project
			The Landscape Architectural Project, an environmental awareness project funded
by NOAA Planet Stewards, enabled students to take ownership in designing,
creating, and maintaining natural gardens around Seminole High School (SHS).
Students had, and continue to have, opportunities to earn service hours, and
become leaders within the school community. Approximately 350 – 400 students,
8 educators, a high school administrator, and 2 outside horticulture experts were
involved from Pinellas County Schools Gardens and the University of Florida (UF)
Urban Horticulture Extension. Restoring Florida native plants to the campus
and expanding access to the gardens by educators who have used them for lesson
enhancements for their students are measures of success for this project.
				
			
			
			Seminole High School Propagation Garden Space Prior to ImprovementsSeminole High School Propagation Garden Space Prior to Improvements (Photo Credit: Jerry Cantrell)
			
			About the Author
            **Jerry Cantrell** is a science and engineering teacher at Seminole High School in Seminole, Florida. Jerry holds a BS from Southern
Polytechnic State University in
Electrical Engineering and an
MS from University of South
Florida in Environmental Science,
Policy, and Geography. He has
taught science and engineering
in Pinellas County Schools for
8 years; prior to teaching Jerry
was a biomedical engineer and
had served 15 years in the US
Army. Additionally, Jerry is a Top
10 Finalist for Pinellas County
Schools 2023 Teacher of the
                Year. Jerry can be reached at cantrellj@pcsb.org.

			Download: Seminole High School Landscape Architectural Project **Projects from Summer 2023**
		
			
		
					Unwelcome Guests: Combating Aquatic Invasive
Species through Education, Habitat Conservation
and Restoration
			Aquatic invasive species are an environmental threat throughout the entire
continent, and students in a landlocked, rural South Dakota school district also find
themselves at the forefront of the struggle against invasive species. A NOAA Planet Stewards project in the 2021-22 school year for middle and high school students on aquatic invasive species resulted in a substantial attitudinal change along with increased content understanding. While the issue of aquatic invasive species presented its own logistical problems, these challenges were, for the most part, successfully navigated to meet stewardship goals resulting in a remarkable learning
experience for both students and teachers alike.
				
			
			
Edmunds Central students inspecting riprap at Enemy Swim Lake for zebra mussels.  Edmunds Central students inspecting riprap at Enemy Swim Lake for zebra mussels.  Invasive mussels can easily spread from lake to lake as hitchhikers on boats and recreation equipment.  Enemy Swim was only a couple of miles from a lake with a known zebra mussel infestation at the time of our survey.  While we did not find any zebra mussels on our stop in October of 2021, by July of 2022 zebra mussels were confirmed in the lake.  (Pictured:  Iana Weiland, Theo Haerter, Alexis Fischer, Joclyn Vargason, and Eden Weiland)
			
			About the Author
            
            **Spencer Cody** teacher 6-12 Science at Edmunds
Central Middle and High School in the Edmunds Central
School District in Roscoe, South Dakota. He holds a
BA degree in Middle School and Secondary Biology
Education from Concordia College in Moorhead,
Minnesota, and an MS degree in Chemistry Education
from South Dakota State University in Brookings,
South Dakota. He has taught for 15 years in the
middle and secondary sciences and is the recipient
of numerous awards for his teaching including the
2018 Sanford Inspire Teacher of the Year for South
Dakota, 2020 North Central Section Outstanding
Earth Science Teacher, 2020 EPA Presidential Award
for Environmental Education, and 2021 Region Four
Teacher of the Year for South Dakota. Spencer can be
                reached at Spencer.Cody@k12.sd.us.
            
            
			Download: Unwelcome Guests: Combating Aquatic Invasive
Species through Education, Habitat Conservation and Restoration
			
			
			
		
            
			Planting Roots in our Community:
Leaving a Legacy Behind
            This NOAA Planet Stewards project was designed to reduce the carbon dioxide in
our environment through tree planting around the Defiance, Ohio area. Locations
included a nature preserve, a therapeutic riding center called Lily Creek Farms, and
the Defiance Elementary School, along with local church grounds and backyards.
The project was responsible for planting 112 trees with a calculated 1,322 pounds
of carbon absorbed for the first year which will continue to grow in years to come.
Once the trees are fully grown, they will remove 5,555 pounds of carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere each year. Students involved in the project showed an increase
from pretest to post-test about their desire to do science, choose a STEAM- related
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) career for their future job, and take
care of the environment.
				
			
			
Defiance Elementary School plantingDefiance Elementary School planting
			
			About the Author
            **Julie Houck** became a NOAA Planet Steward in 2021. She is a K-5 STEAM Teacher at Defiance
Elementary in Defiance, Ohio. She has been teaching for 20 years and has also taught students in
Australia, Germany, and China. She earned her Bachelor of Early Childhood Education from Cedarville
University and her masters from Regent University. She has been a part of GLOBE Mission Earth for
three years and is also a GLOBE trainer. She is a My NASA GLOBE product reviewer, an NSTA member,
                and an Ohio STEM Learning Network Fellow. Julie can be contacted at jhouck@defianceschools.net.

			Download: Planting Roots in our Community:
Leaving a Legacy Behind
			
			
    
			
			Young Stewards Promoting Border Resiliency
			The city of El Paso is uniquely located along the Rio Grande River and borders
of Mexico and New Mexico, all of which are situated in the Chihuahuan Desert.
The region faces a variety of environmental threats, including habitat loss due to urbanization, 
deterioration of freshwater resources and climate change. The Border Region (82% Hispanic and 
poverty rate of 22%) is also very much an underserved community. Working in partnership with the 
Rio Bosque Wetlands Park and
                with funding provided by the NOAA Planet Stewards program, Insights Science Discovery (Insights) 
created the Young Stewards Promoting Border Resiliency project. The goal of this project was to arm 
high school students from underserved communities with the knowledge and skills to restore one acre 
of riparian wetland habitat. The project also fostered career development within STEM fields by 
providing students with opportunities to learn and engage with STEM experts.
The students’ efforts of removing invasive species followed by the transplanting of native 
vegetation within the wetland, helped restore a small portion of this river- valley environment 
while instilling a greater sense of conservational awareness
among the next generation of decision makers.
			
          
			ruce Hutcheson, President of Friends of Wolf Run, comes in to talk with our rain garden club about the importance of the rain garden on the Wolf Run watershed. Students conducting linear vegetation transects to measure and record present species and calculate the most dominant species at the site.
			About the Author
            
            **Jennifer Ramos-Chavez, P.h.D.**, is
the Environmental Education Manager
at Insights Science Discovery where
she coordinates and implements
immersive environmental education
programming. Additionally, Dr. Ramos-
Chavez is a Postdoctoral Researcher
at the University of Texas at El Paso
where she studies the intersection
between the environment, energy
and education. Specifically, her
research focuses on community-based
participatory environmental research
and community-centered outreach.
She is interested in understanding
how student perceptions and
behaviors are influenced by immersive
environmental and engineering
education programming. Prior to her
appointments, Dr. Ramos-Chavez led a
United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) funded project
centered around cost-effective
environmental monitoring research in
Indonesia. Jennifer can be reached at
                jennifer@insightselpaso.org.
          
    
 Download: Young Stewards Promoting Border Resiliency
    	
			
			
			
	
            
        
	A Tiny Forest as an Outdoor
Classroom and a Place for Hope
        
        
        According to experts, such as psychotherapist Caroline Hickman (Hickman, 2020),
climate anxiety in young people can be countered by engaging them in collaborative
work that binds them to the environment and demonstrates for them the power of
collective action. Inspired by such work at schools in Brazil, China, and Malaysia,
and thanks to funding from the NOAA Planet Stewards program, our pre-K-throughtwelfth-
grade school built a so-called “Tiny Forest” on our campus in 2022. Tiny
Forests are dense plantings of native plants in a space about the size of a tennis
court. Students took key roles in writing the proposal to the school, choosing the
plants, preparing the ground, and planting. A year later, the Tiny Forest has become
an outdoor classroom, offering a site for age-appropriate lessons about topics
ranging from carbon capture to nature poetry. By sharing the positive effects of
reforestation and species diversification, students could articulate the possibility
of making small but meaningful impacts on environmental problems. At the Tiny
Forest we hope our students might experience empowerment rather than anxiety.
				
			
			
			Students help plant the 600 trees and shrubs on February 21st. (Photo Credit: Tea Bear)Students help plant the 600 trees and shrubs on February 21st. (Photo Credit: Tea Bear)
			
			About the Author
            **Dr. Patrick J. Walsh** is the Chair of Social Studies at Catlin Gabel School
in Portland, Oregon, where he has taught for seventeen years. At Catlin
Gabel, he teaches courses on Civics, American Studies, Globalization,
and Environmentalism. Patrick holds a Ph.D. from the University of
Texas at Austin, where his graduate work focused on counter-cultural
communities and movements in the twentieth-century American West.
He has been granted two Fulbright awards, one to teach American
Studies at the University of Passau in Germany and a Distinguished
Award in Teaching grant for research in Finland. Patrick can be reached
                at walshp@catlin.edu.

			Download: A Tiny Forest as an Outdoor
Classroom and a Place for Hope
 Subscribe to Our Mailing List Subscribe to the NOAA Planet Stewards mailing list to receive announcements about the program and our bi-monthly newsletter, *The Watch*, which offers professional development opportunities, educational resources, and much more!   The Watch: Newsletter Archives    Table of Contents 2023 Projects - Spring Advocates for Change

                        Floating Wetlands for the Future
                        
                        Clean Up Crew: Empowering Future Changemakers
                        
                           Beaumont Rain & Butterfly Garden


                        Keepers of Turtle Island
                        
                        
                        Seminole High School Landscape Architectural Project   2023 Spring Edition of The Earth Scientist: Download the Complete Issue    2023 Projects - Summer Unwelcome Guests: Combating Aquatic Invasive Species through Education, Habitat Conservation and Restoration

          Planting Roots in our Community: Leaving a Legacy Behind
                        
          Young Stewards Promoting Border Resiliency
                        
         

            A Tiny Forest as an Outdoor Classroom and a Place for Hope   2023 Summer Edition of The Earth Scientist: Download the Complete Issue Copyright© 2023, The Earth Scientist, National Earth Science Teachers Association. All rights thereunder reserved.  **Search**Our Posts    Get **Social** Social
  **Last updated:** 11/13/23 **Author:** NOAA How to cite this article Contact Us


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