2023 NMEA Award Winners
Marine Education Award—Individual
Susan Wood, Washington
The 2023 NMEA Marine Education Award for outstanding work and leadership in any aspect of marine education at the local, regional, or national level was awarded to Susan Wood, Education Coordinator at the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, located in Mount Vernon, Washington.
Susan Wood—2023 Marine Education Award recipient
For over thirty years Susan Wood has educated thousands of people about estuaries, the ocean, and the natural environment. She has created programs that introduce people of all ages to the importance of marine ecosystems and the things that live in them. Through place-based education, Susan has lead thousands of students into the wondrous world of mudflats to explore the mysteries of eelgrass meadows, and through those explorations spark lifelong curiosity.
Susan has worked to connect with local tribal community members and learn more about traditional ecological knowledge and how Padilla Bay can better support tribal students who are navigating two worlds.
When Susan isn’t tromping out in the mud in her hip waders, she is working with Skagit Stream Team, a group of volunteer community scientists monitoring water quality of local waterways. Climate change and its effects are very important issues to Susan. Susan is very passionate about doing everything she can to help people understand actions needed to reverse climate change. She has been working with Washington State’s Office of Public Instruction for many years to provide teacher workshops on clime change. Susan is a trained educator for the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation and has been a speaker at various symposia and conferences on communicating about climate change and focusing on solutions.
Susan has been an inspiration to many people throughout her career. She helped create Storming the Sound, a conference for environmental and marine educators in Western Washington and has co-hosted it for 24 consecutive years. She has trained and guided hundreds of people just starting out in their careers as educators. And she has been an outstanding example of innovation and continuing improvement for her current staff. Susan is a long-time member of the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators group as well as the National Marine Educators Association.
Marine Education Award—Outstanding Organization
Operation SPLASH, New York
The 2023 NMEA Marine Education—Outstanding Organization Award for outstanding work and leadership by an organization in any aspect of marine education at the local, regional, or national level was awarded to Operation S.P.L.A.S.H. (Stop Polluting, Littering, and Save Harbors), a volunteer-based organization dedicated to improving the quality of Long Island’s south shore bays, waterways, and beaches, based in Freeport, New York.
Operation SPLASH—2023 Marine Education—Outstanding Organization Award recipient
For just over three decades, members of Freeport’s Operation SPLASH have made it their mission to clean up the waters of Long Island, particularly on the South Shore. Now in its 32nd year, Operation SPLASH has seven vessels making two trips daily for seven months of the year. Thousands of volunteers who refer to themselves as “aqua-garbologists” have collectively removed and safely disposed of 3 million pounds of garbage from the local bays.
Of all the ecological activism in which SPLASH has engaged, the 3 million pounds of trash removal is what makes SPLASH President Rob Weltner the most proud. SPLASH volunteers have made Weltner not only proud, but impressed, by “getting bay parks (and the) sewage treatment plant updated and running at peak performance,” Weltner said. Like other organizations, Operation SPLASH was impacted by the ongoing pandemic. “We were slowed, but not stopped,” said Weltner. “We had to reduce our crew size because of COVID but found that smaller crews made everyone more comfortable. We kept our masks on until we got out to the boats, at which point we were able to take our masks off.”
SPLASH has also created the Clean Marina Program, an “incentive-based, voluntary program that encourages marina owners and boaters to follow environmentally sound procedures,” according to OperationSplash.com. The purpose of Clean Marina is to educate boaters on how to enjoy the waters of the South Shore while adhering to water safety guidelines. Major storm drains constitute another focus of Operation SPLASH’s attention. In 2010, the organization designed a device that, according to the SPLASH website, could “capture and remove solid debris from entering the bay from the storm drain system along the Meadowbrook Parkway that begins in Westbury.” Known to Splashers as the debris trap, Weltner and others created the device from discarded floating docks. Every year since, it has stopped more than 200 barrels of street garbage from entering the South Shore bays. The trapped trash is subsequently removed and disposed of properly by the volunteers at Operation SPLASH. Most of the trash comes from land-related activities, goes through the underground pipes where the water supply originates, and then makes its way to the ocean.
Operation SPLASH has developed a corollary program known as “Adopt a Storm Drain.” This program “engages school classes with a ten-month program that includes lessons in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math),” according to the website The students who take part in this program put a stenciled grate over a street-level storm drain, and collect data about the debris that is caught by the stencil throughout the school year. The data is then sent back to SPLASH for further analysis, and is used to “assist in public works planning for communities.”
As far as the future of SPLASH is concerned, Weltner hopes that his organization is able to convince more and more people of what needs to be done in order to improve water quality on the South Shore. “We’re always trying to let people know that most trash comes from the streets, goes through the storm drain, and ends up on the bay,” said Weltner.
“We’ve been trying to put ourselves out of business for 31 years, and we’re hoping that people will help us do that.”
Youth Leadership in Marine Conservation Award
Sea Scout Ship 5, Massachusetts
The first-ever NMEA Youth Leadership in Marine Conservation Award for individuals 18 and under or youth groups who have demonstrated passion for protecting marine environments, educated the public about the importance of the marine environment, or advocated for the conservation and protection of marine environments and/or individual marine species was awarded to Sea Scout Ship 5, based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Sea Scout Ship 5—2023 Youth Leadership in Marine Conservation Award recipient
Sea Scout Ship 5 exemplifies the spirit behind the NMEA Youth Leadership in Marine Conservation Award. Ship 5 is based out of Gloucester, MA, but. specifically, Ship 5 has 14 registered Sea Scouts, with the Gloucester Elks Lodge 892 as their Charter Organization. The crew members are from Gloucester, Peabody, Bolton, Stow, MA, and there are a few from CA. The crew is very active in their community, working on multiple marine conservation initiatives. Several highlighted projects include conducting regular beach clean-ups in local marinas and beaches, maintaining an oyster upweller to help increase the local oyster population, and creating change by getting funding, permission and installation of a bottle filler in their local marina to reduce the amount of single-use plastic water bottles that are used (all too often found on the clean-ups). Ship 5’s crew has a long list of accomplishments, and clearly enjoys, respects, and takes action to protect the marine environment.
Sea Scouting has existed for over 100 years to help promote better citizenship and improved member boating skills. Sea Scout units are called “ships,” and provide opportunities for Sea Scouts to grow and learn, find adventure, and build lasting friendships, all while focusing on the sea and maritime heritage. Sea Scout Ship 5 began their involvement in NMEA in 2019. Several of the ship’s crew attended the 2019 NMEA Student Conference, and many presented posters of their work during the full conference poster presentation. Adult conference attendees were very impressed with the crew member’s projects and willingness to share their accomplishments at the national conference. The crew continued their NMEA Student Conference attendance in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Although attending virtually, the crew members still enthusiastically participated in the Student Conference and presented their accomplishments.
President’s Award
Jackie Takacs, Maryland
The 2023 President’s Award, given by the current President of NMEA Laura Diederick, based on outstanding contributions to NMEA and/or marine education goes to Jackie Takacs, Watershed Specialist at the University of Maryland Sea Grant Extension and NMEA Treasurer.
From the moment I met her, I knew that she was a force to be reckoned with. Her energy and attitude—and I mean that in every sense of the word—are unrivaled.
Jackie Takacs—2023 President’s Award recipient
2022/23 President Laura Diederick presented the following statement at the 2023 NMEA conference in Bellingham, WA:
“Each year as the outgoing president leaves office they are invited to present an award to a member or members of their choosing. There’s no real criteria for this award—it’s up to the discretion of the president. There are so many people who have impacted my career journey and my involvement in this organization. I’ve had a lot of mentors and I’ve made a lot of lifelong friends. But when I thought about who I wanted to present this award to, there was really only one person who made sense to me. Jackie Takacs.
I first met Jackie back in 2014 when she was involved in planning the conference in Annapolis, Maryland. From the moment I met her, I knew that she was a force to be reckoned with. Her energy and attitude—and I mean that in every sense of the word—are unrivaled. We may not always agree, but we will always have a good discussion and work together towards a solution. There is absolutely no one who works harder for this organization and for that, I want to recognize Jackie.”