Marine sanctuary receives grants from partner agency
Patty RamusThe Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary will be able to implement planned portions of its education programming thanks to funding it will receive from being a partner agency on two different grants.
According to Education Coordinator Cathy Green, the marine sanctuary will receive grant money through the Great Lakes Fishery Trust Fund and National Science Foundation. The sanctuary was not the primary submitting agency for either grant, but rather a partner that will be part of receiving funding.
"The thing with both of these grants, we're able to partner with organizations we already work with and building programs that already exist. It's a way to build our capacity rather than starting from scratch," she said.
Michigan Sea Grant submitted the application for the Great Lakes Fishery Trust Fund grant, which is an implementation grant for its stewardship initiative. The grant centers on place-based education and environmental stewardship, Green said.
The marine sanctuary along with research and educational partners including the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District,Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Sea Grant and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are receiving nearly $200,000 over a two-year period to implement development of a regional organization that will provide leadership for a place for place-based or community-based education.
"At the heart of that is linking scientists and researchers with classrooms in Northeast Michigan," Green said. "The kids are going to be doing real research and research that's going to benefit the community."
Green said the sanctuary's facility will be the physical hub for all of the partners. One of the items coming out of that is the formation of an AmeriCorps position based out of Thunder Bay. The member will be known as a place-based education coordinator, who will facilitate the program. The position has been announced and people can apply through Huron Pines.
"We're going to be seeking out in this first year, classrooms that have already been doing environmental research projects whether that be watersheds or the shipwrecks. There'll be funding available to implement whatever kind of research project they're working," she said. "We want this to be real research. We want students who can process data or analyze data."
The Marine Advanced Technology Education Center applied for the National Science Foundation Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program grant. MATE applied for the grant to be able to expand its remotely operated vehicle competition to include more middle school level students and underserved socioeconomic or ethnic groups that tend to fall behind in math and science. The $1.2 million grant will allow MATE to build upon existing regional competitions across the country, Green said.
Green said the MATE and ITEST program go well together because they encourage students to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. All of the regional competition hosts, including the marine sanctuary, were able to become partners on the grant. The grant will provide funding to add a series of 12 regionals over a three-year period. The marine sanctuary will get money to fully implement its portion during the third year.
"Up until then we'll be getting some money to do planning and infrastructure improvements," she said.
During the third year, the sanctuary will receive money to help fund part or all of a person's salary to coordinate for the competition along with participant support. The participant support will come in the form of work shops for teachers, training for students and money for materials or equipment.
The sanctuary current includes middle school teams in the regional competition, but with the grant Green would like to see participation from new 10 middle schools. At that number, she foresees expanding the competition to two days, she said.
"The ROV program is one of our strongest education programs. It's such a great way to reach that middle and high school level," she said.
Patty Ramus can be reached via e-mail at pramus@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5687.
