By Eva Ryan, University of Wisconsin-Madison

To further celebrate the Wisconsin Sea Grant 50th anniversary, I had the opportunity to interview Ginny Carlton, education outreach specialist. Ginny gave me insights into the changes in her field from the past 50 years and hopeful changes for the next 50.

Carlton provides learning opportunities to an array of different people including K-12 students and teachers, as well as catering to other audiences through programs like Grandparent’s University. The education branch also hosts webinars that are open to the public. Some of these webinars have recently been associated with the Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL). The CGLL allows Sea Grant education specialists from across the Great Lakes basin to collaborate and produce educational products and programs. For example, the Trash Trunk is an educational kit that explores what marine debris is, its impacts and what can be done about it.

Ginny Carlton. Image credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

“I think that’s one of the really wonderful things about Sea Grant; the education isn’t just left to me,” Carlton said. “As the education outreach specialist, I have the opportunity to work with a lot of our other colleagues at Sea Grant.” For example, Anne Moser, Adam Bechle and Carlton are collaborating on a NOAA-funded grant project that provides seventh grade students in the Racine Unified School District with educational opportunities related to coastal engineering concepts.

Though Carlton started her position at Sea Grant in 2019, she has observed several changes within the education field from the past 50 years. One of the details she listed was research into neural science, specifically the way people process and retain information.

Another change in the education field is a greater focus on place-based education. While early educational movements, such as nature study and conservation education, acknowledged ecological differences between one location and another, place-based education expands the concept of place beyond just geography. Place-based education uses aspects of the students’ environment like culture, ecology and economy to make connections between their education and local community.

Though the education field has made strides in becoming more inclusive and optimal for student learning, there are always improvements to be made. “I hope we find ways to more fully open learning opportunities to everybody,” Carlton said. She noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fact that not everyone has the same opportunities as others all of the time.

“At Sea Grant, we’re very fortunate because we have wonderful partners who can, and do, help with the work,” Carlton said. Sea Grant works with a variety of partners to design, promote, deliver and evaluate diverse educational offerings and products, which in turn helps all of us to reach a larger audience with important educational messages about the Great Lakes and people’s relationships to them. For example, a recent project, ROVe the Great Lakes, created in partnership with the Wisconsin Historical Society, features the work of maritime archaeologists who use remotely operated vehicles in their work.

Despite this impressive feat, Carlton has her sights set on further improving her field. “We have to work collaboratively to meet the needs of as many people as we possibly can,” said Carlton, “In this way, we advance our mission to promote the sustainable use of Great Lakes resources and reach our vision of thriving coastal ecosystems and communities.”

 

The post How far education has come and where we hope it’s going first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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If you’re among the many who are looking for online learning materials for use at home, you might want to check out the Trash Trunk. This new learning kit focuses on trash found in our waterways, otherwise known as marine debris. Its free lessons are applicable for learners at levels kindergarten through adult in both formal and informal educational settings.

Wisconsin Sea Grant Education Outreach Specialist Ginny Carlton explained how the idea originated. “The topic for the trash trunks came from things we were seeing happening across the Great Lakes Basin. Marine debris is an emerging issue. There was consensus among the partners that this would be a worthwhile topic.”

Sea Grant programs in Ohio and Michigan, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) Marine Debris Program joined Wisconsin Sea Grant staff in creating the trunks as part of their work for the Center for Great Lakes Literacy.

True to form, the team recycled lessons previously created by other educators, picking the best of the best materials about the impact of trash in both fresh and salt waters. “We used materials from groups like NOAA, the Ocean Conservancy, the Alliance for the Great Lakes and other institutions,” Carlton said.

The kit contains an educator’s guide with 14 lessons, sturdy informational display cards and supporting materials needed to perform the activities. Those activities are organized into three sections, which address the origins of marine debris, its impacts and what can be done. Educators can select a single lesson or develop a unit using Trash Trunk content, supplemental materials and common classroom supplies.

Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Senior Special Librarian and Education Coordinator Anne Moser has been doing marine debris activities with children for a while now. “They absolutely LOVE this topic!” she said. “It’s very action-oriented. They can embrace the topic and make changes, especially with their waste and plastic consumption at home, which I think kids find inspiring.”

Trash trunk assembly in process in Carlton’s home. Image credit: Ginny Carlton, Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Carlton organized materials for the 35 trunks at home in her living room, since she is working from home due to COVID-19. “They did take up a little bit of space for a while. It was worth it. I think these resources will be well-used by the teachers and students across the Great Lakes Basin,” she said.

Besides finding space to assemble the trunks, figuring out what would fit inside the trunks was another challenge. “There’s a limit as to what you can fit in the tote box,” Carlton said. “I ordered supplies in waves just to make sure that what we wanted to include would actually fit.” These include tools that teachers might have difficulty in obtaining, such as a digital microscope, thermometers, a 100-foot measuring tape, and a manual luggage scale to weigh collected marine debris. Examples of reusable items are also included, like a mug, lunch totes and beeswax wrap, which is a substitute for plastic wrap.

Much to the UPS driver’s dismay, Carlton distributed all the trunks at the same time from her home to Sea Grant programs in the other states that border the Great Lakes: Minnesota, Illinois-Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan. (Five trunks will be available in Wisconsin through the interlibrary loan system.) After some masterful rearranging, the driver was able to fit the trunks into his truck.

The trash trunks ready for shipping throughout the Great Lakes states. Image credit: Ginny Carlton, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Moser explained that due to COVID-19 quarantining requirements, the trunks are not available in Wisconsin right now but that the curriculum is available online. “If you have a student working at home, there are lessons they can use,” Moser said.

For more information about the Trash Trunk and other educational materials, please visit this resources page.

Funding for the trunks came from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through the Center for Great Lakes Literacy.

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Marie Zhuikov