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WINTER 2004 | ||||||
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--- E-Newsletter contents ---
-- O'Neill Sea Odyssey Netherlands
-- OSO's 25,000th Student
-- Curriculum Distributed Nationally
-- OSO Shares Ed. Center
-- Thanks to our Contributors
-- Honoring John Laird
-- Visitors from the Ukraine
-- Comerica Contributes
-- OSO Board, Staff, Instructors and Advisors
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O'NEILL SEA ODYSSEY IN THE NETHERLANDS By Bridget O'Neill, Co-Chair, OSO Board of Directors
O'Neill Sea Odyssey enjoyed a special opportunity to extend its studies into the Netherlands this year. With the help of Esther Jacobs of JSI (the O'Neill licensee in Europe) and O'Neill Sea Odyssey of Santa Cruz we were able to take out 30 students in the Netherlands.
Esther worked with Sea Odyssey and the Dutch Royal Navy and Air Force to implement a similar program to what is offered here in Santa Cruz. The children boarded the Dutch Coast Guard boat the "Walker" (pictured below) and went out approximately 2 nautical miles. Then they carried out several ecological tests, gaining insight into the nature of tides and the formation of wave systems, currents and the Ecosystem of the North Sea and its influence on shore. Also included was a lesson and demonstration of a search and rescue operation at sea by a Lynx helicopter.
To top the day off, students toured the Royal Navy Air force Base and simulation flight of the Orion Patrol aircraft, which is used to track oil spills off the North Sea. Four lucky children were chosen to actually join the pilot for a 15-minute flight and report back to the class.
Thanks to Esther for great efforts! We look forward to working with her in the future continuing the education of young children on the importance of the Sea. | ||||
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OSO's 25,000th STUDENT AND WHY KEEPING TRACK IS IMPORTANT By Jack O'Neill, Chair, O'Neill Sea Odyssey | |||||
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Sometime in March or April, 2004, O'Neill Sea Odyssey will serve its 25,000th student. I can't tell you exactly when this will be, because Laura Barnes, our Education Coordinator, is still scheduling classes. Once the schedule is set, then counting the kids will be easy. Once Laura finishes fitting particular teachers into their preferred dates, then Cheryl Thompson, our Operations Coordinator, will calculate which Sea Odyssey class will contain the mystery 25,000th kid. Since we keep very accurate numbers (as required by the US Coast Guard and many of our donors), this will not be too hard to do. I can understand reluctance by some to get caught up in the numbers game. It | ||||
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is true that quality is often more important than quantity. But, with O'Neill Sea Odyssey, it is different.
We have worked hard to develop a quality program, one that now aligns with State and Federal education standards in math, science and life science. Evaluations have shown that our message of environmental and community stewardship is effective.
Therefore, it is imperative that we get this message to as many kids as possible. Not just so they can learn, but also so that they can be environmental leaders and ambassadors, spreading their message and their passion for the environment to others.
I am also excited that we are working with partners who are doing O'Neill Sea Odyssey programs in other countries. The oceans are something the whole world shares, and must protect. With billions of people inhabiting our planet, we need to start spreading the message to as many kids as we can. They will do the rest. | |||||
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TOYOTA GRANT FUNDS NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF OSO CURRICULUM By Laura Barnes, Education Coordinator | |||||
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In 2002 O'Neill Sea Odyssey received a grant from the Toyota National Foundation. This grant allowed OSO, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to develop and publish a nationally applicable marine science curriculum based on our program. In addition to subject matter taught by OSO instructors, NOAA developed and integrated a section on coral reef ecology into the new curriculum for educators in tropical regions. An important part of this grant was to utilize national environmental education conferences in order to distribute the curriculum free to educators around the country. With the help of a fantastic development team put together by Dawn Hayes of NOAA, O'Neill Sea | ||||
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Odyssey: Explorations in a National Marine Sanctuary was completed in early October. On October 7, 2003 Cheryl Thompson and Laura Barnes, OSO's Operations Coordinator and Education Coordinator, traveled to Anchorage, Alaska to attend the 32nd annual North American Association for Environmental Education Conference. This five day conference proved to be an excellent place to distribute our curriculum, spread the word about OSO and learn about the most recent developments in environmental education.
The theme of the conference this year was "Thinking Globally While Acting Culturally", with the main focus on making environmental education accessible for diverse student cultures. Our main venue for distributing our curriculum was the exhibit fair, which resembled a huge environmental education expo. Booths from EE organizations all over the country were staffed by educators eager to promote their programs, share materials and simply share experiences and ideas with other colleagues. OSO had a great spot in the exhibit fair and was able to give away over 100 copies of our curriculum for free. It was an amazing opportunity to deliver our materials into the hands of educators from Oregon, Washington, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Main, New York State, Florida, Alaska, Canada, South Eastern Africa, the Middle East and many other regions. Both members of the OSO team took turns staffing the booth and participating in the educational sessions included in the conference.
OSO staff attended presentations on the development of Marine Protected Areas, Environmental Education and State Academic Standards, Teaching Environmental Education to Diverse Audiences, Adapting EE Materials for Diverse Audiences, Developing Environmental Curricula for Non-formal Sites, Partnering to Teach Environmental Science, The Educational Potential and Pitfalls of Whale Watching, and the Business of Environmental Education, just to name a few. Participating in these sessions gave staff members of OSO a valuable opportunity to expand and update their knowledge of EE in order to aid our programs development.
The contribution that we received from the Toyota National Foundation has helped OSO provide marine education materials to teachers across the nation. Although the far-reaching affects of this curriculum are difficult to measure at this time, we have taken the next step toward a national understanding of the importance of preservation and protection of our marine environments. | |||||
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OSO TO SHARE EDUCATION CENTER WITH SURFRIDER FOUNDATION
Continuing its long history as a public benefit oceanfront facility, the O'Neill Building will provide marine sanctuary education, action, and digital weather data all in one place.
When renovations to the O'Neill Building are finished in 2004, the Surf rider Foundation _ Santa Cruz Chapter and O'Neill Sea Odyssey will occupy the west side of the upstairs area, which will also include a third floor weather station. The weather station will be owned by and will provide digital weather information to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Monterey, California. | |||||||
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Also occupying the upstairs area of the building will be Oceanfast Yachts (formerly O'Neill Yachts), RE-MAX Real Estate Services, the Insight Agency, Pacific Healing Arts and Laurel Andres Counseling. The Santa Cruz Port District will own and operate the downstairs portion of the building, including restaurant and business facilities.
If you are looking for OSO through June, 2004, you can find our temporary classroom, also known as Camp Laird (for Assembly member John Laird who obtained critical funding), by taking Seabright Avenue towards the ocean, | |||||||
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turning left on Atlantic Avenue, |
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then turning left on Marine Park Way. Go down the hill, and follow the boats, until you find our trailer next to the Coast Guard Auxiliary building.
The temporary location on the west side of the Santa Cruz Harbor was made possible by US Coast Guard Commanders Thomas Stuhlreyer, and Deb Darminio. Without them, the program would be homeless, and unable to serve the kids, in 2003-2004. | |||||||
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THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING CONTRIBUTORS
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Upjohn CA Fund
California ONAX
Team O'Neill
Comerica Bank - California
Kaitlin Gaffney
Marcella & Joe Hall
Elizabeth & Robert Darling
Geo. H. Wilson, Inc.
The Dilworth Family Foundation
Dixie Rogers-Rees
Brad D. Wiles, Attorney at Law
Ruth & Michael Keeley
Wells Fargo
Elyxir Distributing
Gary A. Patton
Wolfgang H. Rosenberg
Ocean Honda Chevrolet
Victor & Ruth Pasca
Kristin & Scott Kennedy
Zarina & Leah Kosinovsky
Julie Packard & Robert Stephens
Michael Weber
Steve Bareilles
Morgan Taylor
Ruth Vreeland
Karen Grimmer-O'Sullivan
Karleen Appraisal Services
Greater Bay Bancorp Foundation
Coast Commercial Bank
D.E. & Diane P. Cooley
Santa Cruz Community Credit Union
James & Kimberlin Beckett
Cannery Row Company
Craig Jones in honor of:
The Jones Family,
Steve & Monica Federico,
Peggy Wright,
Jeri Galloway,
Jeff Jones,
Harold & Suzie Galloway,
Bechy & Jim Carazzone,
Susan Jones,
Erin & Mavrik Zavarin
For the Adam Webster Fund: United Way Silicon Valley | ||
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OSO FUNDRAISER WILL HONOR JOHN LAIRD
The date of July 8, 2004, has been tentatively set for O'Neill Sea Odyssey to honor California Assembly member and OSO Advisory Board Member John Laird, who has provided a much-needed boost to the renovation of OSO's marine education center at the Santa Cruz Harbor. | |||||
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Tickets to the event will go on sale in spring, 2004. Working with the California Coastal Conservancy, Laird obtained $150,000 for disabled access to the upstairs education center from the California Coastal Conservancy. In addition, Laird successfully lobbied the Conservancy to provide $13,000 for temporary facilities for OSO's education center on the west side of the Harbor, and $87,000 to make up for rental revenue that will be lost to OSO during renovation. | ||||
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"John's advocacy for O'Neill Sea Odyssey and the thousands of kids we serve was critical to our survival during these tough economic times," said OSO Executive Director Dan Haifley. "John's involvement, though, should be a surprise to no one. He has devoted his life to California's coastline, to protecting the ocean environment, and to educating California's youth."
Laird, previously served as Santa Cruz City Councilmember, Mayor and Cabrillo Community College Trustee before his election to the State Assembly in 2002. | |||||
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In November visitors from Santa Cruz's sister city, Alushta, Ukraine, came to observe our program. Pictured from left to right: Pavel Klimovych, Director of Mir Camping / Arkadiy Garybyan, Director of "Vodoley" Restaurant / Cindy Schuette of the Santa Cruz-Alushta Sister Cities sub-committee / Nancy Eidam of the Santa Cruz-Alushta Sister Cities sub-committee / Igor Khomayakov, Advisor for International Relations / Yuriy Pechurin, Director of "Kiev" Sanitorium / In front" Enda Brennan of the Santa Cruz-Alushta Sister Cities sub-committee | ||||||
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Dan Haifley, Executive Director of O'Neill Sea Odyssey, gratefully receives a $1,200 contribution from Comerica Bank - California for the OSO program. Pictured from left to right: Reed Geisreiter, Vice President, Coastal Region, Comerica Bank / Dan Haifley / Jon D. Ditlevsen, Senior Vice President-Western Division, Coastal Region, Comerica Bank | ||||||
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jack O'Neill, Chair US Rep. Sam Farr Jack McLaughlin Bridget O'Neill Carl Keehn Nick Petredis Mike McCabe Tim O'Neill Donna Blitzer
STAFF Dan Haifley-Executive Director Laura Barnes-Education Coordinator Cheryl Thompson-Operations Coord. Tim O'Neill & Mike Egan-Skippers Toni Pelton & Lisa Jenkins- Stylin' Recylin' Store
INSTRUCTORS Bruce Heyer Nikki Brooks Laura Barnes Steve Spiliotopoulos Keith Dahlin | ||
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OSO ADVISORY BOARD
Jeff Almquist Superior Court Judge, Santa Cruz County
Blanca Alvarado Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Albert Aramburu Marin County Board of Supervisors (ret.) Director, California Conservation Corps (ret.)
Bruce Arthur Capitola City Council
Cliff Barrett Scotts Valley City Council
Steve Belcher Chief of Police (retired), City of Santa Cruz
Jess Brown Executive Director, Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau
Harry Edwards, Ph.D. Director, City of Oakland Parks and Recreation
Tim Fitzmaurice Santa Cruz City Council
Lynda J. Goff, Ph.D. Vice Provost & Dean of Undergraduate Education Professor of Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz
M.R.C. Greenwood Chancellor, University of California, Santa Cruz
Sister Julie Hyer, O.P. President, Dominican Hospital
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. President, Waterkeeper Alliance
Scott Kennedy Santa Cruz City Councilmember
John Laird California State Assemblymember, 27th District
Bob Lee Santa Cruz County District Attorney
Rafael Lopez Former Member, Watsonville City Council
Terry Medina Chief of Police, Watsonville Police Department
Harvey J. Nickelson President/CEO, Coast Commercial Bank
Ellen Pirie Santa Cruz County Supervisor
Emily Reilly Santa Cruz City Council
Mike Rotkin Santa Cruz City Council
Simon Salinas California State Assemblymember, 28th District
Joe Simitian California State Assembly, 21st District
Bill Simpkins Community Volunteer, Boat Owner
Robert Stephens President, California Audubon Owner, Elkhorn Native Plant Nursery
Kathryn D. Sullivan, PhD President/CEO, COSI Columbus NASA Astronaut
Mark Tracy Sheriff-Coroner, Santa Cruz County
Mardi Wormhoudt Santa Cruz County Supervisor | ||