|
Date 5-30-06
Contact Linda Skupien 228.872.4273
Ocean
Springs —Mississippians from the fields of policy,
education, science, economic development and resource management
are invited to join national leaders via Web cast June 7-8 to help
chart the future of efforts to increase ocean literacy through formal
and informal education.
The workshop
at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
(GCRL) will focus on the need and strategies for ensuring that citizens
have basic knowledge about oceans and seas, especially the Gulf
of Mexico.
"Ocean-literate
citizens will have an understanding about how the Gulf affects them
and how they affect the Gulf. With that understanding, they will
be able to make informed decisions about issues affecting their
lives and their communities," said Dr. Sharon H. Walker, administrator
of the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium located at
the GCRL post-Katrina.
Walker said
the regional workshop is part of the national Conference on Ocean
Literacy to be held in Washington, D.C., on June 7-8. The national
conference is in response to a request from the Interagency Committee
on Ocean Science and Resources Management Integration established
under President George W. Bush’s U.S. Ocean Plan. Walker will serve
as a moderator for one of the Washington, D.C., sessions.
Her team is
organizing the local event, one of five concurrent regional workshops
that will feature portions of the national conference via satellite
or Web. Local presentations and discussions will dovetail with the
national schedule that includes U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, U.S. Rep.
Gene Taylor and other national leaders in government, education
and ocean sciences.
"At the
end of the workshop, we will come away with a clearer idea of what
should constitute ocean literacy efforts and how best to coordinate
such efforts for this region," Walker said.
The two-day
event is free to individuals with a professional connection to the
Gulf and its resources. Continental breakfast and lunch are also
complimentary Wednesday and Thursday.
Co-hosts with
the Scott Aquarium are the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium,
the National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation, and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
For a schedule,
see www.usm.edu/aquarium/opportunities.
For reservations,
e-mail scott.aquarium@usm.edu
with the subject line "ocean literacy," or call 228.818.8890.
The Scott Aquarium
is part of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, a unit within the
university's School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, College of Science
and Technology.
| 
