2022 NMEA Award Winners
Johnette D. Bosarge Memorial Award
Carol Steingart, Maine
The 2022 Johnette D. Bosarge Memorial Award for service and dedication to NMEA or the local chapter and loyalty, efficiency, and enthusiasm for marine and aquatic education goes to Carol Steingart, Owner/Operator of Coast Encounters in Wells, Maine.
Carol Steingart—2022 Johnette Bosarge Award Winner
Carol is a marine science enthusiast like no other. She has been providing intertidal programs along the Maine coast for over 20 years to groups of all ages. “Coastal Carol” provides marine outreach to groups of all ages. She brings her tanks to schools, brings groups and families to the coast to explore the rocky shoreline directly, and always finds a way to introduce all audiences to her passion.
Carol holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Conservation from the University of New Hampshire. She is a Shoals Marine Lab faculty member and holds a Maine state license to collect intertidal organisms for educational purposes. Whether she is leading excursions to the rocky shore or bringing live organisms into the classroom, libraries, birthday parties, camps, or assisted living facilities, kids and grown-ups love Carol’s enthusiastic approach to hands-on learning.
Carol is a lifetime member of the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA). Carol is also a past president and lifetime member of the Gulf of Maine Marine Education Association (GOMMEA). She was critical to the success of the 2019 NMEA Annual Conference in Durham with her incredible ability to generate excitement and sponsorship commitments from all she interacted with. She is a tireless supporter of marine outreach, a wonderful colleague and an incredible friend.
Marine Education Award—Outstanding Organization
Eagle Wing Tours, British Columbia
The 2022 Marine Education Award for outstanding work and leadership by an organization in any aspect of marine education at the local, regional, or national level goes to Eagle Wing Tours in Victoria, British Columbia.
Eagle Wing Tours—2022 Marine Education Outstanding Organization
Eagle Wing Tours is a 25-year-old family-run ecotourism company based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Their classroom is the Salish Sea, a spectacular 6,500-sq. mi. inland sea that encompasses Juan de Fuca Strait, Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia.
A passion for the ocean and a drive to spark community action through ecotourism and outreach lies at the heart of Eagle Wing Tours, which can best be described as a conservation organization that happens to run whale watching tours. Their core mission is to build ocean awareness through tours, education and outreach; to protect the marine environment through conservation and research; and to promote environmental stewardship through industry-leading sustainability initiatives.
Eagle Wing Tours has won national and regional awards for their commitment to the guest experience and environmental sustainability. They were the first in Canada’s whale watching industry to join 1% for the Planet, the first to adopt carbon neutrality, and the first to implement a per-guest wildlife fee. Through this wildlife fee, 1% for the Planet, and carbon offsets they are on track by the end of 2022 to raise a total of $1 million since 2011. The funds go directly to conservation organizations who are working hard to restore and protect the Salish Sea and beyond. Eagle Wing Tours is the first whale watching company in Canada to be certified “Platinum” with GreenStep Sustainable Tourism. They are certified “Green” by the Vancouver Island Green Business Collective and “Surfrider Approved” as an ocean-friendly business. Eagle Wing Tours operate fuel-efficient, low underwater noise vessels and continue to engage with marine technology businesses to improve vessel performance and develop more sustainable fuel options. They are certified with the World Cetacean Alliance as a responsible and sustainable ecotourism operator and is publicly committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Eagle Wing Tours has a diverse outreach portfolio that includes working with organizations such as NatureKids Victoria, Sea Rangers, the Bateman Foundation, the World Fisheries Trust, Goldstream Hatchery, and the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea. They also work extensively with schools. Besides participating in Career Fairs, volunteering time with school tourism programs, Co-founding Earth Day Power Hour, a beach cleanup competition among other programs, Eagle Wing Tours launched a school program called Exploring the Salish Sea, a floating classroom program which combines classroom learning and experiential activities to ignite young imaginations.
The primary goal of the program is to help students from Grades 4-8 make an emotional connection to the Salish Sea, and to nurture in them a sense of social responsibility. It’s organized into four parts. The first three sessions are led by our talented marine education team. The team works closely with each teacher who chooses an “essential question” from the British Columbia school curriculum as a learning theme for their class.
Program partners are Greater Victoria School District 61 which oversees education for 20,000 students in Greater Victoria; the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria; Ocean Networks Canada, a University of Victoria initiative that operates world-leading cabled ocean observatories; and Pacific Northwest Transportation Services, which provides carbon-neutral transportation to our boat for students and their teacher chaperones.
By spring 2022, Eagle wing Tours will have introduced approximately 4,000 Greater Victoria students to the wonders of the Salish Sea. Discussions are underway to double that number by spring 2023. Their long-term goal is even higher. As part of their commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Eagle wing Tours target is 10,000 students per year by 2030. There are plans to expand the program to reach other schools, communities and underprivileged youth in the Greater Vancouver area.
As far as they know, this type and scale of marine education program—operated at no profit by a for-profit organization—is unique to British Columbia and probably to Canada. Eagle Wing Tours is only three years in, and already education team members are treated like community superstars by kids, parents and teachers. This speaks to the powerful bond and connection that is being forged with these young people. “We know there’s going to be a lot of indirect goodwill that will come back to us in spades over a long period of time,” says Soberg. “That’s wonderful but it’s not why we created this program. It’s more about a legacy. If we can inspire kids in our community to move forward down that path of sustainability and conservation, whether it’s ocean- or land-based, it’s worth every second and every penny.”
JAMES CENTORINO AWARD
Linda Chilton, California
The 2022 James Centorino Award for distinguished performance in marine education at a regional and/or national level, and dedication to marine issues over a career goes to Linda Chilton, Education Programs Manager at USC Sea Grant in Los Angeles, California.
Linda Chilton—2022 James Centorino Award winner
Linda’s dedication to and accomplishments in marine and environmental education and outreach and her many contributions to NMEA have positively impacted many people over her extensive career. She has been a leader and a ‘connector,’ bringing people together to promote enriched marine and environmental learning for students and adults.
She works with educators and scientists to develop project-based learning and field experience projects involving current marine and coastal science topics. Supporting lifelong learners, connecting informal science experiences with current ocean and research issues, and supporting community science efforts are of key importance to her.
Linda dedicates herself to engaging learners, whether it is in connecting informal science experiences with current ocean and research issues or creating partnerships to support underrepresented audiences in moving forward in education and career paths. Developing and implementing local, regional, and national marine education programs. Working in both formal and non-formal education, she brings awareness of the importance of the ocean and the planet to a wide audience and connects researchers and educators.
Linda was an integral part of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence-West (COSEE-West) (now the COSEE Education Foundation). She provided professional development expertise and brought in partners from her long and wide associations to support COSEE-West’s goal of creating bridges for research scientists and educators to share, confer, and create together.
Linda has worked with Earthwatch which sent “expeditions” to the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, California to collect and contribute data to existing programs including Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) collections, LiMPETS (Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Thinking for Students), Whale Mapp (marine mammal data) and Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Watch Walks.
As USC Sea Grant’s (USC SG) Education Program Coordinator Linda manages Sea Grant’s youth and family field-based programs, conducts undergraduate internships focusing on environmental literacy, and leads the development of region-wide community supported science efforts. Examples include USC SG’s Island Explorers (curriculum and field components) and the Parent Child Education program (through libraries, schools, and Boys and Girls Clubs).
Linda was an integral member of the California Department of Education’s California Mathematics and Science Partnership funded Los Angeles Charter School Science Partnership where she advised, created and implemented teacher professional development as well as research experiences for dozens of teachers (2010 - 2013).
Linda has also developed citizen/community science programs, including the Harmful Algal Blooms Watch project (HABs), understanding sea level rise (especially King Tides via Urban Tides Community Science Initiative), and programs focused on reducing the introduction of aquatic invasive species.
Linda has provided multiple opportunities for students to participate in many programs that allow students to learn about marine organisms. Linda is deeply involved in aquaponics education from the local to the national level. Linda excels at networking and connecting marine education to groups through the internet. This included teaching the Los Angeles Unified School District’s 8,000 students in their virtual summer school.
Linda is an ardent supporter of Traditional Knowledge and indigenous people and their organizations such as the Wishtoya Foundation which supports a local Chumash village in Malibu, California. It includes a strong focus on the Chumash Tribal Marine Protected Areas program and a cultural and marine science education program.
Linda’s contributions are amplified through her long participation in several local, regional, and national education initiatives, including the National Marine Education Association (NMEA), the Southwest Marine and Aquatic Education Association (SWMEA), National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and the Sea Grant Education Network (SGEN). As a veteran member of NMEA, Linda has served on many committees, including Ocean Literacy, Conservation, and Expanding Audiences. Currently she serves as a co-chair of the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and has facilitated bringing TEK practitioners to NMEA. She also serves as our NSTA liaison, facilitating the NMEA mid-year Board meeting and track of sessions at NSTA. Linda also served as an elected Director on the NMEA Board (2017 - 2020). At the chapter level, she is a long-time member and active participant of the Southwest Marine Education Association (SWMEA). Linda currently serves as the SGEN chair, bringing her skills to engage and educate the organization. Through virtual monthly meetings, she has kept the SGEN engaged with invited speakers and networking activities. Linda is co-chair of the Los Angeles Marine Protected Area Collaborative. Additionally, Linda works closely with the educators of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Linda is a recipient of the NMEA Marine Education Award (2014), which was an appropriate acknowledgment of her decades of experience and giving to the marine and environmental science education community.
Honorary Lifetime Membership
Sylvia Spalding, Hawaii
The 2022 Honorary Membership Award for a distinguished career in teaching, research, or service in marine education goes to Sylvia Spalding, former Communications Officer for the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sylvia Spalding—2022 Honorary Lifetime Award winner
While Sylvia is not done with her career yet, she does exemplify all of the above but especially the last phrase: Service in Marine Education.
As a co-chair of the NMEA Traditional Knowledge Committee, NMEA has benefitted from Sylvia’s guidance and vision over the years. Sylvia took on the first committee chair position when it was founded FIFTEEN years ago (January 2007) and has helped raise awareness and recognition of Traditional Knowledge over the years. If this were all that she did, she would still deserve the recognition, but, of course, it is not.
Sylvia also served as Communications Officer for the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council from 1995 to 2021 (26 years if you’re counting), as a member of the NOAA Fisheries Climate and Marine Resources Task Force (2015-2020), and as the Communications Director for the Marine Aquarium Council from 2000-2005.
Sylvia was also part of the 2007 International Pacific Marine Educators Conference (IPMEC) organizing committee. After the initial meeting in 2005, Sylvia helped coordinate the first IPMEC conference to be held in Fiji in 2007. Political unrest shifted the meeting to Hawaii and they were able to keep the same meeting dates with help from the US State Department. This conference included six remote presentations and participation from around the world via a hybrid format that is becoming the norm now – but Sylvia helped this this up before it was a thing! This meeting led to the development of the International Pacific Marine Educators Network (IPMEN) with Sylvia serving as an ex officio member and the start of biannual conferences.
Sylvia raised awareness as she spoke at the launch of the UN Decade of Ocean Literacy. It is because of all of these contributions and her ongoing willingness to volunteer her time and expertise to NMEA that Sylvia Spalding is being honored with the Honorary Membership Award.
President’s Award
Lynn Whitley, California
The 2022 President’s Award, given by the current President of NMEA David Christopher, based on outstanding contributions to NMEA and/or marine education goes to Lynn Whitley, USC Sea Grant in Los Angeles, California.
Lynn Whitley—2022 President’s Award winner
2022 President David Christopher presented the following statement at the 2022 NMEA conference in NY:
Lynn Whitley has worked for USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies and USC Sea Grant and has been active in the Southwest Marine Educators Association and NMEA including serving as NMEA president. In my time as NMEA President and President Elect, I have worked with Lynn on several initiatives like the COVID discount and the recent NMEA membership drive. I have appreciated her insight and her dedication to the membership of this organization. She works hard behind the scenes to increase NMEA’s membership as well as the value that members get from their membership.
Although Lynn could not be at the conference in person, she sent the following response:
“I am humbled and very honored to receive the Presidents' Award. This organization has meant so much to me over the years. It's all about its members and the wonderful connections we all make in our shared passion for the ocean, water, the environment and people.
I am glad if I have been able to help in any way.”