1978

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3rd NMEA Conference

August 8-12, Olympia, Washington (Evergreen State College)

Executive Committee

President: Warren (Renny) Little (MA) (1977-78)
President-Elect: John McMahon (HI/WA)
Secretary: Richard Schlenker (ME)
Treasurer: Nancy Kaufman (DC)
Executive Secretary: Thayer Shafer (CA)
Sea World Journal Managing Editor: Richard C. Murphy
Current Editors: Henri Rauschenbach (MA) /Les Picker (NC)

Board Members:

(1976-78) Dr. Wesley Batten (VA), Karen Hensel (NY), Dr. Barbara Klemm HI), Nancy Richardson (CA), Dr. James Schweitzer (LA),

(1978-79) John Crowley (MA), Vicki Osis (OR), Dr. Robert Stegner (DE), Kenneth A. Stibold (MD), Dr. Art West (MA)

At a meeting at the Cape Cod Sea Camps, 14 people were in attendance as the Northeast Marine Education Council was born. Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey marine education organizations were represented. Among the participants were NMEA's President, Renny Little, and three members of the NMEA Board: Nancy Richardson, Jack Crowley, and Art West. (See photo)

Committee Chairs:

• Aquaria, Parks and Museum Marine Education: unknown

• Cooperative Use of Facilities: unknown

• Conference 1979: unknown

• Curriculum: Robert W. Stegner (DE)

• Elementary: unknown

• Membership: unknown

• Nominating: unknown

• Professional Development & Continuing Education: Barbara Klemm (HI)

• Secondary: unknown

• Undergraduate: unknown

• Vocational & Technological Marine Education: unknown

Conference Highlights:

Thayer Shafer (CA) (Executive Secretary) and John McMahon (WA) (President Elect) did the leg work for this conference. The conference was the largest marine education conference to date. Participants represented all coasts, the Great Lakes, and many inland states. They included teachers, administrators, and educators from a wide range of institutions, as well as NASA, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Office of Education. Papers represented at the conference included the full scope of marine education efforts from kindergarten through college. They incorporated maritime history and literature, arts and crafts of the sea, aquarium programs, sea going programs, traditional marine sciences, and regional, state, and local marine education efforts.

Beautiful cool weather, frigid night swims, and disco-dancing added considerably to an extensive schedule of concurrent sessions and gams. Dr. Warren Yasso (NY) represented Sea Grant, and Ken Stibolt (MD) continued his vocational education program with a panel discussion. The initial meeting of what would become NMEA's first chapter was announced: the Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association meeting of September 22 and 23, 1978. Lundie Spence (then Mauldin) spoke about a "State-Wide Approach to Marine Education in North Carolina." Rosanne Fortner (OH), then living in Virginia, did a program on "Handicrafts Using Marine Materials."

The conference program was color-coded with an agenda that listed papers and abstracts, a discussion of gam sessions (Gams are open to anyone who wants to present something related to marine education that is not on the agenda.), a list of mini-workshops, a list of field trips, reference to a bulletin board where messages could be posted, a call for people to serve on NMEA committees, and an appeal for suggestions, compliments, and "Brikbats."

The Board of Directors met in the afternoon of the first day (August 8th) and on the morning of the last day (August 12th.)

August 12th was also the day for field trips. Trips were scheduled to Oyehut Wildlife Recreation Area to explore salt marsh and sand dune plant communities and Westport Dock to see a variety of commercial and sport fishing boats, canneries and docks.

Tentative trips were: Puget Sound Beachwalk; SCUBA Dive, Canoe Safari, and Tour of Washington Department of Fisheries Salmon Hatchery. Interested participants were asked to check the booth in the Campus Activities Building for the latest information about the tentative trips.

In a letter written in 2004 to the NMEA History Chair (Susan Snyder), Thayer Shafer stated , "Just before the conference, I had learned that my wife had orders to Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany. At the Board Meeting, I informed the Board that I would be leaving. NMEA would have to sink or swim without me to carry the ball.

At that conference the traditional seafood dinner was catered by a local Native American family and featured planked salmon cooked by an open fire along with other Puget Sound seafood.

After the conference, Barbara Klemm (HI) rode down to San Francisco with me and helped me pack up all the NMEA files and ship them to Susan Gammisch at VIMS. Sue had volunteered to handle the Executive Secretary duties temporarily."

Additional Highlights of 1978:

Thayer Shafer announced that he would have to take a leave of absence as Executive Director because his wife had military orders to Germany. At the Olympia conference he was presented with a certificate, dated August 10, 1978. It states:

Whereas:
Thayer Shafer has been instrumental in forming The National Marine Education Association, and

Whereas:
Thayer Shafer has worked tirelessly and effectively on behalf of the Association as its First Executive Secretary, and

Whereas:
Thayer Shafer has brought the Association to a respected position of national prominence

Be it resolved:
On the occasion of his taking a leave of absence from his duties as executive secretary, that the National Marine Education Association expresses its deep appreciation to Thayer Shafer for the excellent work he has done as the Association's first executive secretary.

The proceedings and participant list from the Olympia conference were mailed to the participants.

In his article titled "The National Marine Educators' Association...Historical Notes...",that appeared in Current: The Journal of Marine Education, Volume 8, No.2, 1988, p.9, James A. Lanier stated, "The first chapter of NMEA was founded in Hampton, Virginia, the month following the national meeting, with the official formation of the Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association (MAMEA). Other associations that are now NMEA chapters actually predate both MAMEA and NMEA, but this was the first association to join NMEA as a chapter. Some current chapters, such as the New York State Marine Education Association, are not only older than NMEA, but hold larger conferences."

Bob Stegner represented NMEA at both the National Science Teachers Association in Washington in April and the National Association for Environmental Education in Chicago in early May.

Active Membership was $8.00, Life Membership: $200, Contributing Membership: $100+, and Affiliate Membership: $25.

As documented and quoted from "Marine Education: Individuals and Organizations" by John J. McMahon (OR) (1983), "For the year beginning in August 1978, NMEA's operational priorities were to work with the Chief State School Officers (CCSSO); to maintain communication with the United States Office of Education (USOE); and to assist Dr. Spector (of the National Office of Sea Grant) in developing a national network to support marine education. In addition, NMEA developed its quarterly newsletter into a professional journal."

Harold L. Goodwin (DE) and James G. Schaadt (DE) published their document, A Statement on the Need For Marine and Aquatic Education...To Inform Americans about the World of Water, March 1978. This document had been written in response to a remark made by Logan Sallada of the U.S. Office of Education at a Sea Grant Education Workshop in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1976. Sallada suggested that marine education would never receive significant federal support without a concise definition of what it is all about and why it is important.

NMEA co-sponsored the October 13-15, 1978 Northeast Marine Education Conference. According to the January 15, 1979 "Report to Officers and Board of Directors of the NMEA" from President John McMahon, "We felt it was valuable to co-sponsor this conference with the Massachusetts Marine Educators and the Northeast Regional Marine Education Council as a way to support local marine education associations and help them meet local needs. The following NMEA officers and Board members participated in the conference: Bob Abrams, Renny Little, Dick Schlenker, Barbara Klemm, Nancy Richardson, Jack Crowley, Bob Stegner, Art West , and myself. We also received $400 from this conference."

In 1978, five publications were issued to the membership. The first two were called Sea World: toward a greater understanding of the world of water.

Spring 1978: The Spring edition of this journal was edited by Richard C. Murphy and published by Jon Walker. It contained information on a variety of marine topics including, but not limited to the plight of the California brown pelican, fossil shark teeth unearthed in a Mexican desert, and diversity and importance of plankton. In this issue, there was also a poem about shells written by Michael W. O'Shea. In a section of the journal titled, "View from the Crow's Nest", Thayer Shafer, the Executive Secretary stated, "In the short time that it has existed, the National Marine Education Association has helped to establish an identity for 'marine and aquatic education.' Only by the joint effort of many people can we hope to influence the development of a society in which the water world is as well understood as the terrestrial. We hope that you can join us in this effort and at this year's National Marine Education Conference." He announced that the conference fee for members was $25.00 and for nonmembers, $30.00. These fees included a one-year membership. Included in this first issue of 1978 was a listing of summer programs available for laypersons, teachers, and young people.

Summer 1978: The managing editor of this 56-page summer journal was Richard C. Murphy and the publisher was Jon Walker. Donald W. Wilkie, Director of the T. Wayland Vaughn Aquarium-Museum, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego wrote the editorial article. He discussed: "(1) How to effectively bridge the gap between the scientists and the public with regard to vital issues of the ocean; and (2) how to improve the decision-making processes of society in matters of the marine environment." Examples of other articles in the issue included "Marine Education in the Midwest" by Beverly Serrell (IL), "The Marine Education Materials System" by Susan Gammisch (VA), "Tools and Techniques of Oceanography" by Lucille Holden (AK), and "To Inform Americans About the World of Water" by Harold L. Goodwin (DE) and James Schaadt (DE). In 1979, Renny Little referred to Goodwin's and Schaadt's article as the "bible of NMEA". .

According to John McMahon “...the decision to cease publication (of Sea World) was made by the publisher--not by NMEA. However, NMEA members thought that NMEA had made the decision to stop publication.”

Sea World: toward a greater understanding of the world of water was replaced by Current: National Marine Education Association. In the Fall of 1979, that name was changed to Current: The Journal of Marine Education.

Left: The editorial staff of this edition of Current: National Marine Education Association, Volume 1, Number 2, Winter/Spring 1978 included editor: Henri Rauschenbach (MA), Field Coordinator: Les Picker (ME), and Publicity Chairperson: Barbara Waters (MA). M.I.T. Sea Grant provided financial assistance. This issue featured the following:

• a description of the organizational meeting of the Northeast Marine Education Council.

• an announcement that the University of Delaware Sea Grant Project to develop a national statement on the importance of marine education was completed after five drafts and 26 workshops in 16 states. The title was "To Inform Americans About the World of Water." A draft of this paper had been part of the last Issue of NMEA's journal, Sea World (Summer 1978). A draft of this paper had been delivered to the project sponsor, the Office of Sea Grant, and to the U.S. Office of Education. Plans for use of the paper by those agencies were being developed.

• notes from Thayer Shafer (CA), Executive Secretary of NMEA, about membership.

• Committee Reports from the Curriculum Chair, Robert W. Stegner (DE), the Sea Grant Chair, Les Picker (NC) and the Professional Development & Continuing Education Chair, Barbara Klemm (HI).

• a Marine Literature review by Prentice K. Stout (RI) and Pamela Z. Sawyer (RI).

• Stateroom: a state-by-state review of what was happening in marine education.

• a listing of marine career opportunities.

• a membership form. Annual membership including the subscription to Current was $5.00. Life Membership: $200; Contributing Membership: $500 or more.

Center: In this Current (Fall 1978, Volume 2), President John J. McMahon stated, "the next year offers many challenges and many opportunities. If we are to meet our goal of providing effective exchange of marine educational information, we need to significantly increase our membership. McMahon challenged each member to recruit at least two new members. He shared that the NMEA committees needed more members. Committees in 1978 included: curriculum, professional development, cooperative use of facilities, vocational & technological marine education, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, aquaria parks and museum marine education, nominating, 1979 conference, and membership.

McMahon gave much of the credit NMEA's progress to date to Thayer Shafer.

The Editorial Staff of this issue included deadlines for future issues and guidelines for the state/regional reports and other articles.

Also in this issue, John McMahon described highlights of the 1978 Conference in Olympia, Washington; Prentice K. Stout reviewed marine literature; Susan Gammisch described the Sea Grant Marine Education Materials System (MEMS); the "Curriculum Feature" was about the Hawaii Marine Science Studies Program (HMSS); the classroom activity was a description of a way to construct a plankton net; and the remaining pages were state activity reports.

Right: The Current Editor for this edition was Les Picker (NC). The sponsor for the issue was the State of North Carolina, Department of Administration, Office of Marine Affairs, Marine Resources Centers and Marine Education Curriculum Study, Great Neck Public Schools, Great Neck, NY.

In this Current (Winter 1978, Volume 2, Number 2), John J. McMahon (in his "Message from the President") related that at the national level, the National Office of Sea Grant had recognized the need for additional efforts in marine education and as of December 1, 1978 would have Dr. Barbara S. Spector on board to provide this support. He also reported that the proceedings from the 1978 National Marine Education Conference in Olympia would be mailed soon. The Current staff appealed in the "Current Log" for articles for future issues. Prentice K. Stout (RI) authored a review of marine literature and Richard M. Schlenker (ME) listed new marine education related ERIC publications. Linda Sadler's (MD) "Washington Report" announced that the Office of Coastal Zone Management had published three Coastal Awareness Guides for Science Teachers.

John McMahon (HI) summarized the Committee on Marine Education Report to the Council of Chief State School Officers (November 15, 1978). The Committee established its first two objectives, (1) generation of a marine education policy statement, and (2) development of a position paper defining procedures and strategies to effectively increase marine education literacy. The committee recommended that each Chief State School Officer appoint a staff member from the State Education Agency to serve as a marine education coordinator.

More that half of this 11-page Current was filled with the feature "Stateroom," where state representatives discussed organizations, meetings, conferences, programs, workshops, and other opportunities in their 16 states.