The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), a nationwide high school academic competition managed by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, has increased high school students’ knowledge of the marine sciences, including the science disciplines of biology, chemistry, physics, and geology for 25 years. The program has exposed students to the breadth of environmental, conservation and sustainability issues facing our global ocean as well as ocean-related careers available in all job sectors. The NOSB has addressed the national gap in environmental and Earth sciences in K-12 education by introducing high school students to and engaging them in ocean sciences, preparing them for careers in ocean science and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Through preparing for and competing in the 25 regional competitions of the NOSB, up to 2,000 students from 300 schools across the nation each year have gained access to ocean science research, diverse marine environments, and experts in the field, all of which helped build the personal and career skills they need as our future leaders to weigh solutions to regional, national, and global ocean and environmental challenges such as climate change, resource exploitation, and habitat loss. The ocean, as a complex system, and focus of program, has also inspired student development of innovation, engineering, and technology skills.

Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships in Coastal Louisiana Resilience Education (R4Ed) helped high school students in coastal Louisiana learn through data analysis about the science of hurricanes in a warming world, learn through local stories about impacts of hurricanes, and then identify resilient actions that could help keep their households and their communities safe. To accomplish this the UCAR Center for Science Education worked with the NCAR Capacity Center for Climate and Weather Extremes and the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center to develop a high school curriculum called Hurricane Resilience. During 20 days of instruction, students make connections between the science of hurricanes, how they affect their community and region, and how we can plan for a more resilient future. Making local connections, students develop an understanding of 1) the risks that their community faces now and in the future due to hurricanes and tropical storms, 2) how sea level rise increases the risk, and 3) how our actions can help us be less vulnerable and more resilient. The curriculum unit aims to empower high school students to have a voice in resilience planning and understand the relationship between the science of hurricanes and the local impacts these storms have on people and places. Hurricane Resilience is available online and adaptable for high schools in any coastal location where hurricanes pose a threat. The R4Ed project worked with science curriculum coordinators in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes, Louisiana, to ensure that the curriculum would meet the needs of their districts. We pilot tested the curriculum in three high school environmental science classes at South Terrebonne High School in Houma, Louisiana. The final curriculum was modified to work for in-person, hybrid, and virtual learning formats during the pandemic. The implementation was scaled up to serve 600 students instructed by 12 teachers in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes, LA, during the 2020-2021 school year and then approximately 1000 students during the 2021-2022 school year. Teacher professional development workshops instructed virtually when Covid-19 risk was high and in-person when risk was lower, oriented teachers to the lessons. Over the course of this project, Hurricane Resilience reached 1658 students and approximately 80 educators. In addition, the project reached 220 members of the public during a community event in 2019. Evaluation results indicated that resilience was not part of the environmental science curriculum prior to Hurricane Resilience and 92% of the teachers in this project had never addressed resilience in their environmental science curriculum before this project. Teachers instructing Hurricane Resilience indicated that the curriculum engaged students in concepts that impact their daily lives and the future of their community. We continue to support implementation of Hurricane Resilience in area schools and find ways to build on this foundation, assisting young people as they develop decision making strategies that will help them navigate risk and decrease vulnerability as related to hurricanes, climate change, and sea level rise in the rapidly changing Louisiana Bayou.