Spring 2017 brought many opportunities for outreach in the local community, with a strong focus on integrating the King Tides Project into the classroom.
On February 16th, King Tides North Carolina (KTNC) kicked off its season of outreach with the annual SciREN Coast networking event between local educators and scientists. Gathered in the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, enthusiastic scientists filled the building to present their research in the form of lesson plans for K-12 educators. This was an exciting opportunity for the initiative to expand its reach to younger audiences. KTNC created lessons and activities geared towards 4th and 5th graders that focused on aspects of climate change, tides, and sea-level rise (this lesson plan is available on our website). It was a busy night talking to many excited teachers who expressed an eagerness to incorporate the King Tides Project into their work. As a result of the networking event, we received invitations to work with the Sea Wolf 4-H program at the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) and with a 4th grade science class at Bogue Sound Elementary School.
Eagerness to participate in the project was equally expressed by local community members at the 37th annual meeting of the Carteret County Crossroads on February 23rd. At the event, KTNC facilitated a meet and greet with Crossroads members to discuss the initiative and recruit new participants to the project. This was followed with a presentation by UNC Institute of Marine Sciences’ Dr. Rick Luettich, “Challenges of Predicting Coastal Flooding”.
