GCOOS hosted its Outreach and Education Council (OEC) meeting 
Dec. 11-12 in Orange Beach, Alabama, where we spent time identifying implementation priorities for GCOOS outreach and education efforts. We hosted two panels on the meeting’s first day:
- Panel I focused on Marine Heatwave activities and included panelists Dr. Jorge Brenner, Dr. Brian Dzwonkowski, Xiao Qi, Dev Rao and Dr. Ren Kamakura.
- Panel II focused on development of a rip current-themed merit badge for Girl Scouts of the USA and Scouting America and included Dr. Dzwonkowski, Jonathan Howell, Carol Lutken, Tom Lutken, Allison Marlow and Karlyn Edmonds. Badge content development was motivated by the 146 fatalities caused by rip currents along the Gulf Coast over the past 30 years — that’s more than the combined number of deaths from floods, tornadoes, tropical storms and lightning over the same time period. Jonathan Howell with the National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama (NWS Mobile), presented on local rip current forecasting, modeling and public safety outreach. He highlighted how NWS Mobile provides publicly available rip current predictions and warnings along the Alabama and western Florida Panhandle coastlines to reduce rip current fatalities. Jonathan also explained how additional wave data from GCOOS-funded buoys recently deployed within NWS Mobile’s coastal forecast area has enhanced rip current predictions, modeling validation and warning efforts.
During the meeting’s second day, Dr. Rusty Low, Deputy Director for Science at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, presented opportunities for participatory science. The team learned about the NASA Response Mappers project, Global Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) protocols , Firewise activities using PurpleAir sensors to monitor smoke and air quality, and water quality monitoring opportunities through GaiaXus.
The meeting concluded with OEC members and invited guests sharing updates from their respective organizations to identify areas of collaboration to continue building synergy across Gulf education programs. “I am so grateful for the vision and leadership the council provides in championing initiatives that provide exemplary environmental education opportunities,” said GCOOS Outreach and Education Manger Dr. Chris Simoniello. “It is thanks to this collective effort that the next generation is being inspired to make informed and responsible decisions regarding natural resources of the Gulf.”
