There’s a certain kind of magic that happens when you get a group of middle schoolers excited about science. It’s a chaotic, brilliant energy that I had the privilege of witnessing firsthand last summer as a counselor at the NOAA Science Camp in Seattle, you know, the one right next to Magnuson Park. But this experience was almost one that didn’t happen.
This year, Oceancare Alliance reached out to the NOAA camp when I first heard about the NOAA funding cuts by our current administration. For me, the local NOAA camp is one way for me to support local conservation. It turns out my friend at SeaGrant Maile, whom I met at the Orca Bowl, was running this camp. The Oceancare Alliance had recently received a grant and, in turn, contributed to the NOAA camp. This was also my chance to jump in with another volunteer, Bernice and me, at the NOAA camp as two of the camp staff. And then, it happened!
The NOAA staff’s focus for the week was a critical issue in our own backyard: whale entanglements. We taught the campers how rising ocean temperatures and shifting food sources are driving whales closer to shore, putting them on a collision course with crabbing lines and fishing nets.
At first, the students were reserved. It took some time for them to warm them up. As the week went on, their questions grew sharper. Our discussions became more animated. They weren’t just learning about a problem; they were getting angry about it. They were starting to own it.
Towards the end of the camp, we challenged them to design their own solutions. What they came up with was breathtaking. By the end of the day, my students were passionately drafting and building prototypes of retractable, magnet-based crabbing lines—an idea that was entirely their own, designed to prevent entanglements.
That week, I also learned from brilliant NOAA scientists about sustainable fisheries and marine engineering, but the most important lesson came from a group of 13-year-olds. I’ll be back next year!
