North Atlantic right whales are dying faster than they can reproduce.  With just over 330 remaining, these great whales rarely die of natural causes. Instead they are run over by ships or suffer lethal injuries from fishing gear. If we don’t stop killing them, in 20 years they could be extinct.

From the only known calving grounds to the shifting feeding grounds, Last of the Right Whales follows the North Atlantic right whale migration and the people committed to saving a species still struggling to recover from centuries of hunting. Now climate change is forcing right whales further north in search of food, putting them on a collision course with deadly ships and fishing gear.

With unprecedented access to film the whale migration, Last of the Right Whales brings a message of hope about the most at risk great whale on the planet.

After the film, there will be an audience Q&A featuring Amy Knowlton (Senior Scientist, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium), Tonya Wimmer (Marine Biologist and film participant, Marine Animal Rescue Society) and Zack Klyer (Science Director, Blue Planet Strategies) The Q&A will be moderated by Leah Baumwell (Senior Associate, The Pew Charitable Trusts).Last of the Right Whales

Facebook event link

Tickets available here

2022 Summer Professional Development Institutes: Southeast Region

Utilizing Your Local Ecosystems as Laboratories for Investigations

A Professional Development Institute for Grades 6-12 Educators
Description: Learn how to integrate field research and data collection into your science curriculum. Experience multiple entry points for hands-on, place-based science and participate in collaborative projects with professional scientists. Explore wetland, estuary, marine, and forest habitats and participate in authentic data collection. Consider how this data can tell us stories about these living laboratories and the plants and animals that live there.
Dates: July 18th – 22nd, 2022 (8:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET)
Collaborating Partners: Lloyd Center for the Environment; New Bedford Whaling Museum; Round the Bend Farm

2022 Summer Professional Development Institutes: Central Region

Nature and Design: Connections Between Science, Engineering, and the Natural World

A Professional Development Institute for Grades 6-12 Educators
Description: When designing and constructing our built environment it is imperative to consider the impact on the natural environment. During this Institute, you will examine how buildings and landscapes work together and how nature inspires us to create. Explore the features of a LEED certified building and designed elements that support nature, such as solar fields, rain gardens, and pollinator gardens. Use your new knowledge to design a public green space within an urban environment.
Dates: July 11th – 15th, 2022 (8:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET)
Collaborating Partners: Tower Hill Botanic Garden; Mass Audubon’s Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary; Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

2022 Summer Professional Development Institutes: Berkshire Region

Investigating Watersheds: From the Mountains to the River Basin

A Professional Development Institute for Grades 3-8 Educators
Description: What affects water quality in rivers that flow through your community? How do scientists measure watershed health? In this Institute you will visit local rivers and the lands that surround them to explore a variety of methods for investigating a watershed. Put science and engineering design practices to work as you participate in citizen science projects that your students can engage with to protect watersheds in your area.
Dates: July 25th – 29th, 2022 (8:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET)
Collaborating Partners: Housatonic Valley Association; DCR Mount Greylock; Berkshire Environmental Action Team; Hoosic River Watershed Association

The Ocean Awareness Contest is a platform for young people to learn about environmental issues through art-making and creative communication, and become advocates for positive change.

The 2022 Ocean Awareness Contest theme THE FUNNY THING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE challenges students to learn about climate change and its impact on the ocean, and to explore new ways, like humor, satire, or kitsch, to communicate the urgency of the climate crisis.

• Submissions accepted in: Visual Art, Creative Writing, Film, Interactive & Multimedia, Performing Arts: Music & Dance, and Poetry & Spoken Word
• Open to middle and high school students ages 11-18 worldwide
• Students can work as individuals or as a group/class/club
• Hundreds of cash awards available, ranging from $50 to $1,500
• Free to enter
• Submission deadline: Jun 13, 2022

Songbirds and Stewardship: Engaging Your Students with the Science of Migration Through Place-Based Learning and Citizen Science

A hybrid professional learning opportunity for Grades 5-8 educators

Focus Workshops

Learn how to engage your students in citizen science through a place-based approach. In this hybrid online and in-person workshop you’ll get an introduction to the fundamentals of place-based learning, participate in citizen science projects at Manomet, and learn about how songbird populations are changing in response to human development. Develop guidelines, strategies and a lesson plan to support all students as you establish citizen science environmental monitoring projects relevant to your school community.

Manomet Observatory is an outdoor laboratory and demonstration property for science and education. During our in-person day at Manomet you will target MA STE MS-LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy and Dynamics by participating in one or more of Manomet’s ongoing environmental monitoring programs. Manomet’s research on the phenomenon of bird migration is one of the longest-running in North America, and you’ll explore Science and Engineering Practices as you use models to understand the process of bird banding, and conduct inquiry investigations and evaluate data to see how songbird populations are changing in response to human activities. The experience will culminate with a chance to interact with live birds and see the banding process first hand! Participants will also be provided with a curriculum packet to use in their classrooms.

The Beaches Conference

The Maine and New Hampshire Beaches Conference

Thank you for your interest in the Beaches Conference. We will be gathering at Berwick Academy on Friday, June 10, 2022.