October 2024
The NOAA Ocean Guardian School Program was designed in part to help promote conservation and stewardship practices between K-12 schools and their local water resources, and to generate learning opportunities for those involved. Indigenous Peoples have practiced the sustainable use of resources and stewardship of ancestral lands and waters from time immemorial, and continue to do so today. Although some schools have active relationships with Indigenous communities that have and continue to steward these lands, other schools and communities may still be developing connections with the Indigenous Peoples that have historically and continue to care for the lands and waters.
"The NOAA Ocean Guardian School program recognizes the importance of engaging and working with Indigenous communities in collective efforts to educate students in environmental conservation and stewardship,” says Seaberry Nachbar, director of the NOAA Ocean Guardian School program. “Indigenous Peoples can provide vital perspectives and can serve as a model for the underlying goal of the Ocean Guardian School program: to conserve and protect local watersheds, the world's ocean, and/or special ocean areas, like national marine sanctuaries."
Current and future Ocean Guardian School participants are encouraged to explore opportunities to engage and work on stewardship projects developed through the guidance of Indigenous communities. In this way, students will connect societal importance with the health of the ocean and strengthen cultural relationships.
Connecting with One Another as PEN Pals
The Pacific Exchange Network (PEN), an organization that provides opportunities for students to learn and interact with other Pacific Island and Alaskan students, has been engaging students in Alaska, Hawaiʻi, and American Samoa through a program aptly named “PEN Pals.” As PEN Pals, students write letters to one another, and are encouraged to make connections centered around environmental changes, ocean stewardship, and their own personal and cultural connections to the marine environment.
More than 600 students are currently involved in PEN Pals, and nearly half of these students are part of an Ocean Guardian School Program. While many of the students are writing letters to one another, some are engaging in more interpretive and creative sharing, such as sending videos, art, 3D printed corals, and other objects. A total of 208 letters and 84.5 hours of video were exchanged between the students this past school year.
In their letters, students discussed a wide range of topics, including local food and sports they enjoy, issues such as pollution and marine debris in the ocean around their communities, how they find connection and foster a sense of belonging, how they express their culture, how to fix ocean problems, and how they find hope. Adiya, a fifth grade student from American Samoa wrote in one of her letters, “I’m so excited to have a partner from Alaska. I hope we can get along and become best friends.”
Adiya, a fifth grade student from American Samoa wrote in one of her letters, “I’m so excited to have a partner from Alaska. I hope we can get along and become best friends.”
The three people who collaboratively manage PEN Pals are Māhealani Bambico (Hawaiʻi B-WET Coordinator), Isabel Halatuituia (Office of National Marine Sanctuaries – American Samoa), and Michelle Dutro (Alaska State Sea Grant fellow).
“We hadn't realized how powerful this medium could be for students to connect with one another, and we're interested to see how long-term connections between participating students can be fostered,” says Dutro. PEN Pals helps students participate in cultural sharing and emotional expression, all centered on the marine environment.
Deepening Relationships with Land and Peoples
In Oakland, California, the Korematsu Discovery Academy has been busy partnering with three different groups to help raise up the importance of Indigenous Knowledge and demonstrate how it is practiced through the direct involvement of Indigenous Knowledge keepers. The students at Korematsu Discovery Academy have collaborated with Hintil Kuu Ca, a preschool in Oakland that began as an outgrowth of a school created during the occupation of Alcatraz Island; Sogorea-Te' Land Trust, an organization focused on the rematriation of land back to the Lisjan Ohlone People; and Planting Justice, an urban farm that focuses on food justice, holistic re-entry, and urban gardening.
Through these partnerships, the students learned about native plants, Indigenous Knowledge, and the rich and complex history of the land. They also helped develop a native pollinator garden and healing space within their own school, with Hintil Kuu Ca hosting a closing ceremony after each class added a piece to the garden.
What is Indigenous Knowledge?
Source: The White House
“Cultivating these relationships requires as much care as cultivating the land,” said Maria Pirner, STEAM lead and school technology lead at Korematsu Discovery Academy. “To build these relationships, I reached out to each organization focusing on the ancestral knowledge they hold and with the shared goal of creating opportunities for children to learn and build connections to the land. I also worked with my NOAA Ocean Guardian grant to create a Shuumi, which is the Chochenyo word for ‘gift.’” Pirner hopes that the Shuumi will help support the organizations and also open a door for a reciprocal relationship. She continues, “I wanted to ensure the leaders knew that our goal was to learn and that we would only use what was learned in the way it was meant to be used.”
This program holds much promise moving forward, as the students have worked with Pirner to develop next year’s program, which includes field trips with Ohlone leaders and new ways to give back support.
Working Alongside Tribal Communities
In North Bend, Oregon students at North Bay Elementary recently had the opportunity to collaborate with the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians (CTCLUSI) on their Ocean Guardian School project.
North Bend Elementary’s partnership with CTCLUSI focuses on supporting the development of an interpretive trail through a restored habitat on campus. The interpretive trail aims to educate visitors about the removal of invasive scotch broom plants and the importance of providing space for native species to thrive. With many of these native plants playing a significant role in Indigenous culture, students also plan to incorporate information from Indigenous Knowledge keepers about the plants’ current and historical uses by Indigenous Peoples.
Edward Nichols, lead Ocean Guardian School teacher at North Bay Elementary, states “Working with CTCLUSI allowed us to integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge into our environmental education, enriching the learning experience for our students and fostering a deeper appreciation for Indigenous contributions to environmental stewardship.”
Rachel Roday is a former communications intern at NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Rachel Plunkett is the content manager and senior writer at NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries