NOAA Planet Stewards

NOAA Planet Stewards NOAA Planet Stewards is a professional learning community within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that supports formal and informal educators, community leaders, and citizens in designing and implementing stewardship projects focused on climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and extreme weather events. The program links practitioners to resources from agencies and institutions such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen place-based teaching and community resilience. It provides connections to funding sources, curricular frameworks, and scientific datasets from organizations including the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, and the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Overview

NOAA Planet Stewards operates as an education and engagement initiative within the Office of Education (NOAA), aligning with strategic priorities set by the Department of Commerce and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The initiative emphasizes experiential learning drawn from projects associated with sites such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Coral Reef Early Warning System, the Everglades National Park, and the North Atlantic Right Whale conservation efforts. Its audience includes teachers in districts like the Chicago Public Schools, informal educators at institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History, and community organizers connected to networks like the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties.

Programs and Activities

Programmatic offerings include educator professional development, project grant competitions, and webinar series featuring subject-matter experts from institutions such as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and the NOAA Climate Program Office. Activities span citizen science collaborations with platforms like iNaturalist, eBird, and CoCoRaHS, curriculum integration using frameworks from the Next Generation Science Standards, and data literacy exercises leveraging repositories from NOAA Fisheries, NASA Earth Observatory, and the Global Fishing Watch. The initiative also administers stewardship project awards and mini-grants modeled after programs run by the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, the GLOBE Program, and the North American Association for Environmental Education.

Education and Outreach

Education and outreach emphasize teacher professional learning aligned with methods promoted by Learning Forward, curriculum developers at the New York Hall of Science, and assessment practices from the Council of Chief State School Officers. Outreach channels include collaborations with media partners like the Public Broadcasting Service, the National Geographic Society, and the Smithsonian Science Education Center to distribute classroom-ready materials and place-based lesson plans. NOAA Planet Stewards hosts online communities and webinars featuring researchers from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Royal Society, and the American Geophysical Union to bridge K–12, museum, and community programming.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Partnerships extend to federal laboratories and universities such as the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University. The program collaborates with conservation organizations including The Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, Audubon Society, and Surfrider Foundation, and engages with international bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the World Meteorological Organization. Cooperative agreements and joint workshops have involved professional societies such as the American Meteorological Society, the Ecological Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

Impact and Recognition

Evaluations of project outcomes reference datasets and metrics used by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, the National Ocean Service, and academic assessments published in journals like Science, Nature Climate Change, and the Journal of Environmental Education. Educators and community leaders participating in the program have received awards and recognition from entities such as the White House Champions of Change, the National Science Teaching Association, the MacArthur Foundation, and regional honors from state departments of education and environmental quality offices. Program alumni have contributed to policy dialogues at forums including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the National Climate Assessment, and regional resilience summits convened by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Category:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Category:Environmental education programs Category:Citizen science