Current Log: Volume 34, Issue 3, Winter 2020/2021

As 2020 comes to a close and we prepare to take on a new year, I hope you are staying safe and healthy. I am writing this as new COVID-19 cases surge in Southern California and families prepare for the holidays under difficult circumstances. On top of it all, I am eight months pregnant! But I am hopeful that 2021 will be a more peaceful and positive year for everyone.

While I take a maternity leave in the first half of the new year, my good friend and colleague Melanie Basich will take the helm as Current editor. She and I have very similar backgrounds in magazine editing, and I am confident that she will produce an excellent issue in the spring.

In putting this winter issue together and working with the authors and peer reviewers who contributed, I was inspired by the resilience I have seen in the education community. You are all facing huge challenges in providing a positive learning experience for your students and the public during the pandemic. At the same time, many of you are also parents, being stretched thin by working from home and simultaneously providing childcare and monitoring at-home schooling. Whatever your circumstances, you have continued to prioritize marine education and develop with ways to adapt and thrive.

The articles in this issue address the challenges of maintaining a framework for educational activities during the pandemic. You will read about a mentorship between a student and faculty member that took place entirely online this past summer and a marine science camp that converted to a virtual format. This issue also includes an article on a deep-sea exploration class for higher education in Colombia in the Research and Evaluation section and a program model for a community science effort to document microplastics in Georgia.

The Current editorial board welcomes your feedback on the journal and its content. To contact us, please send an email to current@marine-ed.org. To submit a paper for an upcoming issue, visit current-journal.com and click on the Start Submission button. I look forward to hearing from you.

I am sending you my best wishes for a happy and healthy 2021. Take care out there.

Sincerely,

Claire Atkinson
Editor