Oceans of Knowledge | Issue 2023

K-12 Ocean Discovery Program Unleashes a Wave of Environmental Stewardship
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 2022-23 marked the first full school year that Valley Christian Schools will provide Ocean Discovery programs K-12. Fresh off the success of its Marine Life initiatives, focusing on coral and biological preservation, the high school program piloted an ocean mammals program this past January, led by VCHS biology teacher Dr. Shawn Noren. Students took field trips to Santa Cruz and Pescadero to observe professional research projects involving bottlenose dolphins, seals, and sea lions.

Riding the wave of oceanic interest at VCHS, the Ocean Discovery programs at the junior high and elementary campuses continue to flourish. A trip down to Skyway classroom E100 brings you face-to-face with the Aquarium Wall, used by the VCJH programs for various experiments and observations.

We wanted to bring research directly into the classroom,” says David Gonzalez, a VCJH Life Science teacher and Ocean Discovery Program Manager.

A key focus of the junior high program is the study of coral, specifically the challenge of keeping it alive and thriving without specialized tools. The quick verdict: it’s pretty tricky.

“Coral is the iconic case of how humans can impact the environment,” Gonzalez says. “We will be testing light, nutrient levels, and temperature to really understand how much the ocean is impacted by different day-to-day activities that people typically don’t think twice about.”

The next addition to Ocean Discovery laboratory will be a touch pool designed for elementary students’ use and interaction. As of January 2023, VCES offers Ocean Discovery programming to its youngest students; kindergartners and first graders learn what the living things in the ocean need to survive, and how different ocean creatures work together. Older elementary students learn about the nature of organisms and get to focus their research and activities on specific ocean creatures such as crabs, turtles, jellyfish, sea otters, and seahorses. The program culminates with a hands-on touch pool experience.

“It’s exciting to observe and teach the younger students and see how eager and interested they are to learn about ocean life,” says Natalie Gonzalez, who manages the VCES program. “Their constant curiosity and need for knowledge about the ocean is amazing. I enjoy being around them and hearing how they want to care for the ocean and the life within it.”

The instructors in the Ocean Discovery program believe wholeheartedly in the importance of young students being informed about the complexity of marine environments and cultivating a sense of stewardship for such critical aspects of our overall ecosystems. In particular, there’s a hope that the current generation of students can lead in developing meaningful solutions to essential climate problems. These students are thoughtful, and they are optimistic.

“If you give an adult information about ocean acidification, eutrophication, rising temperatures, garbage, and so on, they’ll likely say something to the effect of, ‘oh, so we don’t have a chance,’” says David Gonzalez. “When you give junior highers that same information, they typically respond with, ‘So how do we fix it?’”

Ocean life footage at 900m deep in Monterey Bay by the VCS educational research platform.

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