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New England Aquarium Students' Comments | Questions and Answers with Sylvia Earle | More Conference Photos! Introduction The second Student Ocean Conference, held on December 1, 2000 at the New England Aquarium, was a terrific success! Fifty-two students grade 7-12, from six schools in the greater Boston area and Providence, RI gathered at the Aquarium to participate in this interactive and exciting Conference. Additional participants in the day's activities included Ocean Explorer Dr. Sylvia Earle, a number local federal agency representatives, professionals from the National Geographic Society's Sustainable Seas Expedition and Education Program, the Director of Coastal America and other Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center representatives.
Welcome Storm Over Stellwagen
Ocean Explorer Dr. Sylvia Earle With a little time remaining, Dr. Earle opened the floor for questions (Questions and Answers with Sylvia). Dr. Earle closed her remarks by asking the group to consider the history of what's happened on land when humans made the assumption that our actions would not be significant enough to have long-term, devastating effects on the environment. Dr. Earle cautioned and challenged the students to ensure that the same mistakes wouldn't be made in the oceans. Stakeholder Discussion Groups
The students divided into stakeholder groups to discuss the perspective that user-group would have on how, and if, to protect the Stellwagen Banks National Marine Sanctuary. The stakeholder groups were facilitated by experts in each of the fields, and enabled the students to ask real-life questions to help sort out their answers about protecting the Sanctuary:
Lunch Stakeholder Presentations After lunch, each stakeholder group presented their recommendations to a panel of expert judges, composed of professionals from many of the stakeholder fields. (L to R in photo: Marianne Farrington, Research Scientist, New England Aquarium; Francesca Cava, SSE Education Program Manager; Dan Basta, Acting Director, National Marine Sanctuary Program, NOAA; and Bill Hubbard, Chief of the Environmental Resources Section, US Army Corps of Engineers, New England District.) The panel was an inquisitive one, challenging the students to consider the real-world implications of their recommendations for protection of the Sanctuary.
Closing Remarks Virginia Tippie, Director of the Coastal America Partnership congratulated the students on participating in such a high caliber conference. She encouraged them to continue pursuing involvement in marine issues and to keep being creative with their ideas. They had a tough task at hand, defending different stakeholder needs in front of a professional panel, and they rose to occasion with their thoughtful discussions. The oceans are a "Commons" - a common resource - and through the conference the students experienced first hand just how difficult, but necessary, it is to consider everyone's needs while protecting the marine environment. Ms. Tippie thanked the students for their wise recommendations, and noted that she would share their thoughts and decisions with colleagues and decision-makers in the marine profession.
Follow-Up The Student Ocean Conference at the New England Aquarium was the second pilot conference to be held, and was as great of a success as the first one. Following in the footsteps of the Seattle Aquarium Student Ocean Conference, they continued to set a challenging pace for other exciting conferences to follow. The students will receive certificates of participation in the Student Ocean Conference. In light of the conference's the success and the feedback from the students, teachers, and professional participants, the New England Aquarium hopes to repeat the event in the years to come.
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