Author Archives: kightp

About kightp

Pat Kight is the web and digital media specialist for Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University.

“Ocean of Junk” presentation at HMSC April 27

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NEWPORT, Ore. – Parts of the Pacific Ocean are beginning to resemble a landfill and the increasing accumulation of debris – mainly plastic – is the focus of a special presentation on Monday, April 27, at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.

Two environmental activists from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in California will visit the center as part of their 2,000-mile bicycle tour from British Columbia to Mexico to raise awareness about what some are calling the “North Pacific Garbage Patch.”

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HMSC featured on Travel Oregon show

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This week’s episode of “Grant’s Getaways,” a Travel Oregon video blog by Oregon broadcast journalist Grant McOmie, features OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center in Newport, where Sea Grant Extension educator Bill Hanshumaker talks about how the center connects fun with learning:

View the video at Travel Oregon’s Vimeo site).

Register now for Yamhill Water School

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The Oregon Sea Grant Watershed Extension Team will present its first Oregon Water School April 17-18 in McMinnville. Programming includes a “Watersheds 101” introduction to core concepts, and a two-track series of classes on the topics of Water Quality and Watershed Stewardship, and Gardening and Landscape Practices. Students may register for an entire track, or choose sessions a la carte. Participants are eligible for certification credits toward the OSU Master Watershed Steward program, as well.

Friday’s Watershed 101 session will take place at the Church on the Hill, 700 North Hill Road, and Saturday’s at Linfield College. Costs range from $35 for a two-class half-day session to $80 for the entire two-day school. Preregistration is required for Watershed 101; single-day registrations will be available at the door, space permitting, for Saturday’s courses.

For more information and registration, visit: http://oregonstate.edu/conferences/waterschool2009/

Deadline approaches for teacher workshop registration

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Sea Grant, NOAA and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry join forces to present part two of the  “Learning Ocean Science through Ocean Exploration Curriculum”  professional development series for grade 6-12 teachers on April 4 at OMSI in Portland.

A followup to the an introductory workshop based on the NOAA-developed Ocean Exploration Program curriculum, the workshop will focus on light in the deep sea; adaptations, including bioluminescence; hydrothermal vents and cold seeps; and chemosynthetic tubeworms.

Pre-registration is required by March 20. For more information, download the workshop flyer (.pdf format) and registration form from Oregon Sea Grant’s marine education program at the Hatfield Marine Science Center.

Rip Currents Could Play Role in Increased Coastal Erosion

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Amid growing concern about rising sea levels triggered by global warming, Oregon Sea Grant researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) are discovering that rip currents might play a role in coastal erosion because they create rip embayments, or low areas on sandy beaches, that expose nearby land to higher rates of erosion by wave activity.

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Communications for Ocean Scientists Workshop at OSU Feb. 27

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Are you interested in communicating more effectively with the public about your work in ocean sciences?

Are you looking for ideas and partners for producing successful broader impact and outreach activities?

Join COSEE-Pacific Partnerships for a half day workshop for ocean scientists designed to introduce participants to effective strategies and best practices for communicating with public audiences. The workshop will also provide opportunities to develop partnerships for a variety of education and outreach activities.

  • When: February 27, 2009, 9 am to 1 pm
  • Where: Oregon State University, Weniger Hall, Room 247
  • Please RSVP no later than February 25, 2009 to Coral Gehrke, COSEE-Pacific Partnerships Coordinator, at cgehrke@uoregon.edu or (541) 888-2581 ext 236.

For additional information visit: www.coseepacificpartnerships.org

Download a .pdf flyer of this announcement.

Salmon resilience featured in online journal

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Corvallis, Ore – Is there anything really new to be said about the prospects for salmon in the Pacific Northwest? Yes, says a group of experts, including several from Oregon State University (OSU); their new perspectives are collected in a special feature issue of the online journal Ecology and Society .

The special feature issue is titled “Pathways to Resilient Salmon Ecosystems”; access to the journal is free and open to the public.

Scientists, politicians, pundits and the public have been discussing the future of salmon since at least the 1870s, said Dan Bottom, an editor of the special issue and both a research fisheries biologist for NOAA Fisheries and courtesy faculty in the OSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.

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Sea Grant Veterinarian Helps Control Virus in Koi Ponds

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Koi in a pondCORVALLIS, Ore. – Call him the koi doctor. An ichthyologist a la koi. The koi keeper’s confidant.

His patients are living works of art – brilliantly painted Picassos that swim in elaborate ponds and fetch up to $70,000 a piece. When disease strikes, the fallout can be disastrous, costing koi keepers in Oregon and around the world hundreds of thousands of dollars.

One half of a two-man SWAT team called in to render medical support for ornamental fish, Oregon State University’s Tim Miller-Morgan is a Sea Grant Extension veterinarian for aquatic pets, based at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Ore.

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OPB-OSG invasives program wins major broadcast award

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CORVALLIS – Columbia University has awarded Oregon Public Broadcasting a 2009 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for its Oregon Field Guide special, “The Silent Invasion.”

The documentary illustrates how invasive species are changing the environment in Oregon. It was produced by OPB in partnership with Oregon Sea Grant, which is based at Oregon State University, and by other organizations.

The award is considered the broadcast journalism equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize.

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Surveys about adapting to changing climate reveal coastal concerns

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Coastal officials and owners of coastal property in East and West coast states don’t need to be persuaded that climate change is happening. They believe that both government and individuals should begin taking action now to adapt to expected effects. These are among several insights from surveys conducted in Oregon and Maine by the Sea Grant programs in those states. The surveys, launched in parallel in early 2008, are believed to be the largest studies to date to focus on United States’ coastal populations and the challenge of adapting to the expected effects of coastal climate change, such as a rise in sea level.

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