Planet NOAA Podcast Episode 7: Class is in session!

Transcript

[Planet NOAA theme music plays]

SYMONE BARKLEY (HOST): Welcome back to Planet NOAA! I’m your host, Symone Barkley. I’m the National Ocean Service Exhibits Manager and an Education Specialist here at NOAA. Speaking of education, it’s back to school season! Our planet is a living classroom. So pull up a chair for today’s lesson with our NOAA Education experts.

[NOAA in the News theme music plays]

HOST: I’m here with Public Affairs Specialist and Climate Scientist Tom DiLiberto, who’s got the inside scoop on NOAA in the News.

TOM DILIBERTO: Hey, Symone. Hope you’re staying cool in this heat!

HOST: Tom, even as July has come to a close, reports of wildfires continue to grow. And these record high temperatures we’re feeling around the nation are not helping. What is NOAA doing to help firefighters working large wildfires?

DILIBERTO: Great question, Symone. July and August are the peak wildfire months in the US. And since January this year, over 26,000 wildfires have burned nearly 3 and a half million acres of land. That’s already more land than last year, though not even halfway to the acreage burned in the incredibly destructive years between 2020 and 2022 . As of mid-July, there were nearly 70 large active wildfires being managed nationwide, with evacuation orders in effect for residents in parts of Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Montana, and Utah. Organizing resources and crews to fight wildfires is an enormous undertaking. Right now, nearly 19,000 firefighters and members of support crews are assigned to incidents across the nation. Among these crews are specially trained meteorologists with NOAA’s National Weather Service, or NWS. They’re called Incident Meteorologists, or IMETs, and they deploy to wildfires to serve as key members of wildfire incident command teams. These forecasters provide critical real-time weather information that wildfire managers and first responders need to successfully and safely contain fires. IMETs are specially trained to predict fire weather, behavior, and conditions during these conflagrations. As soon as a large wildfire breaks out, wildfire incident commanders can submit a request to NOAA to send one of our 88 IMETs to their site within 24 hours. So, our IMETs are ready to deploy at the drop of a hat with a “go bag” and their necessary supplies. I spoke with IMET Rebecca Muessle, who is working the Falls Fire in central eastern Oregon, which has burned more than 140,000 acres and is located near Burns, Oregon. Here’s what she had to share.

REBECCA MUESSLE: The recent weather pattern that has really driven a lot of our active fire behavior was a record period of high pressure and a widespread heat wave. So that essentially allowed for our fuels – so the grasses, trees, brush – to dry out to exceptionally dry levels. And then on top of that, you have for the Pacific Northwest specifically, there was a very strong cold front that moved through, and we had kind of southeasterly flow and it brought widespread lightning. So that started a significant number of fires. And then just a couple days ago, we had another round of lightning and it equated to over 15,000 cloud to ground lightning starts. When we are here deployed at an ICP, we are here specifically providing weather forecasts for firefighters safety. That is our number one job. Here on the Falls Fire, the incident command post is set at the Harney County Fairgrounds. So if anyone’s ever been to a county fair before, you know, it’s dusty, there’s barns, there’s chickens running around. We have cows just next door that are kind of like roosters waking you up at a good old 4:00 in the morning. You know, when we’re here at the incident command post, often you are living where you work. So I’m sleeping in a tent in the middle of a field. We’re using porta potties. I am actually working in a big red barn. So when I am here working on the fire, I am providing briefings not only to the crews as they’re preparing to go out and do their jobs, but I’m also providing weather information for our cooperators, which are members of the general public, electricity companies, ranch owners, so that they can make decisions. We’re helping with evacuation status; we’re working with agency administrators from all of the different forest districts. And on my fires, you know, I’m bringing my gear like my line pack, my fire shelter. We have to be prepared to go out in the field. I always take within my line pack, most importantly, are survival things. So water, food. But meteorologically I am carrying two specific things. One is a belt weather kit and in it is very basic non-electronic weather observation tools. So something called a sling cyclometer, which is a metal device that you utilize and you literally get one thermometer wet, the other one’s dry, and you swing it around kind of like one of those celebratory kazoo things. And you’re getting your relative humidity from that. And then we have, you know, your standard thermometer; we have a compass and the tables that help us calculate it. We also carry an electronic sensor called a Kestrel. And it is a sensor that’s handheld. It takes a lot less time to use that. And then often, you know, cameras and things like that, because we get to see actual fire behavior in action and what weather does to fire when it’s burning on the landscape.

DILIBERTO: When Rebecca’s dispatch has ended, she will return to the Portland weather forecast office where she is a meteorologist. Remember, wildfire prevention and protection is more important than ever and is everyone’s responsibility. You can visit weather.gov to stay up to date on hazardous weather conditions in your area, including red flag warnings which are issued when conditions are ideal for wildfires to take off if there is a spark…

HOST: Thanks, Tom. Unfortunately, wildfires aren’t the only disasters that we’re on the lookout for. Any news from our Hurricane Hunter fleet since we last chatted about hurricane prep?

DILIBERTO: You bet. Calling all fans of planes, trains, and automobiles – but mostly planes! NOAA will be adding a brand-new, fully-modified G550 aircraft to our fleet. It’ll be specially tailored to help us update hurricane and tropical storm forecasts in the summer and the forecasting of atmospheric river systems along the west coast in the winter, among other atmospheric adventures, or as they’re more accurately called, scientific missions. This sleek new aircraft will have a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles and a max altitude of 51,000 feet, and it’ll be the second of two new G550s that will help us keep communities safe in the face of severe storms. These aircraft are going to be equipped with a ton of high-tech sensors, including a brand-new tail-mounted Doppler radar system. As part of these upgrades, the aircraft crew will be able to automatically launch our new dropsondes, which work like weather balloons in reverse as they’re dropped from the plane into the atmosphere below. And Symone, if you’ll let me get nerdy for a second, a brand new, are you ready for this?? Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer will let G550s collect surface wind speed measurements over the ocean in high wind environments, like hurricanes or extratropical cyclones. And most exciting of all for me…a new High Altitude Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit Scanning Radiometer, is going to collect atmospheric temperature and humidity data. Try saying that five times fast! Anyways, adding all of these cool new tools to our fleet will help improve tracking of atmospheric conditions above and around hurricanes and other storms, which is essential for accurate forecasting. The data from aircraft like the G550 will help improve hurricane track and intensity forecasts, which gives decisionmakers more lead time to make crucial choices about evacuations and other storm protections. The first of these two G550s will join our Hurricane Hunter fleet for next year’s hurricane season. So keep your eyes to the sky!

HOST: Ok, let me give it a try. High Altitude Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit Scanning Radiometer. Did I get it? ‘Cause I feel like I got it. 

DILIBERTO: You nailed that.

HOST: Yes! [Laughs] Well, thanks for the tongue twister anyway, even though I nailed it, and for your insights, Tom. Always appreciate you.

DILIBERTO: I have to say NOAA in the news was pretty fire this episode.

HOST: Tom, you’re not young enough to pull that off. But I like it, actually. [laughs]

[Did You NOAA theme music plays]

HOST: I’m excited to be joined by our resident trivia expert and NOAA Heritage correspondent Tara Garwood. 

TARA GARWOOD: Hey, Symone! Have you caught “Twisters” in theaters yet?

HOST: Tara, you guessed my weekend plans!

GARWOOD: Can’t wait to hear what you think! If you tuned into the last episode of Planet NOAA, Tom chatted a bit about how the NOAA team contributed to the making of the new blockbuster “Twisters,” even taking the cast out for a day looking for storms. But for many of our forecasters at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, or NSSL, that may just be a regular day at work. NSSL was founded in 1964, and ever since then, their scientists have worked to understand how and why severe storms form to keep communities safe. 

HOST: How spot-on is the original “Twister” compared to NSSL’s work, though? Do we have any scientists hanging out in truck beds?

GARWOOD: It’s closer than you might think, Symone! Fieldwork is a huge part of NSSL’s research. Scientists have been seeking out storms to study them up-close since before any computer-generated models of storms or radar existed. Lots of early NSSL storm research consisted of people driving around in cars with paper maps and taking pictures on slide film, according to Erik Rasmussen, a veteran tornado research scientist and the chief of NSSL’s Field Observing Facilities Support Division.

HOST: Nice! Sounds like we’ve got our very own Helen Hunts and Bill Paxtons on hand. 

GARWOOD: I’m a Philip Seymour Hoffman fan myself! We’ll check in with some of our meteorologists and storm researchers about the impact of “Twister” right after this.

[Roundtable theme music plays]

SARAH JESTER (GUEST HOST): I’m Sarah Jester, your Planet NOAA Podcast producer and guest host. Good science starts with good education. As back to school season approaches, we’re taking a deep dive into NOAA’s educational programming in the coolest classroom you can find anywhere – our very own planet! I’m here with Louisa Koch, NOAA’s Director of Education. Louisa works with our agency’s amazing array of people, partners, places and information to educate and inspire the public and future workforce about the Earth System. Thanks for joining us, Louisa!

LOUISA KOCH: I’m happy to be here. Sarah, thanks so much for hosting this. 

GUEST HOST: My pleasure, Louisa! We’re also here with Sarah Schoedinger, a Senior Education Program Manager with NOAA’s Office of Education. Sarah co-leads the agency’s Environmental Literacy Program, which supports initiatives that educate and inspire young people and adults to become stewards of our planet in the face of climate change and other environmental hazards. Sarah, happy to have another Sarah on board. Thanks so much for being here!

SARAH SCHOEDINGER: Thanks for having me. 

GUEST HOST: Also joining us is Mark Wolfgang, a NOAA Teacher at Sea  alumni. Mark sailed as a Teacher at Sea  in 2017 on a fisheries survey aboard the NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker. He teaches biology, AP biology, and Zoology at Franklin Regional High School outside of Pittsburgh, PA, and is also the spring musical director. Welcome, Mark!

MARK WOLFGANG: Thanks. Hi, Sarah. 

GUEST HOST: Hi there. Glad to have you with us today. Rounding out today’s group is Kacey Clayton, a NOAA Hollings Scholar alum and a 2024 Knauss Fellow in the Office of the NOAA Administrator. Prior to her Knauss Fellowship, Kacey worked on climate policy and science communication, and received her masters in Marine Science with a concentration in Marine Policy from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Happy to have you here, Kacey!

KACEY CLAYTON: Thanks so much for having me, Sarah. 

GUEST HOST: All right. I couldn’t be more happy to be celebrating back to school season with such a great group of folks. Could each of you share your first memory of when you knew you might be interested in science as a kid? And what drew you to oceanic or atmospheric science?

KOCH: Well, thanks, Sarah. So my dad was a doctor, but more fundamentally, he was a scientist who loved to explore. Every time we got hurt, he would do an experiment on us. He would say, well, let’s see if, you know, if we apply this on the side of the injury or the rash or whatever it was, you know, let’s see how that does. So I was the lab rat in many early experiments. And it just made me realize how important it is to be aware of your outside world, to be paying attention, making observations, and learning from what you see. And in terms of what drew me to oceanic and atmospheric science, I spent a lot of time outside as a kid. And I love being outside, the peace that it gives me and taking care of the world we live in. To me, nothing is more important at this time than figuring out what’s happening with our planet and figuring out how to get us on a better track. And the ocean, the atmosphere, are essential to finding that pathway. 

SCHOEDINGER: So I didn’t think of myself as being interested in science or pursuing a career related to science until I was in college, but I was interested in the natural world around me. We used to go on hikes, and I always loved noticing the wildflowers that we would see. And then when I got back home, I would look them up in a field guide. That always fascinated me. I think what drew me to ocean science, which is what I ended up getting a degree in later on in life, was a love of all the beautiful and weird organisms that it produces. And it started with collecting shells and trying to figure out, like, where they came from and which ones they were and, and like, what the life history was of them. So that was what drew me to wanting to know more about the world that was off the beach and below the surface of the water. 

CLAYTON: I first fell in love with the ocean in third grade. We had started doing separate science classes from the rest of our subjects and my teacher at the time, who I can only remember her looking exactly like Miss Frizzle – crazy skirts and all – did a sea turtle migration project with us, and I just fell in love. I was obsessed with sea turtles for a few years. I decided at the age of seven, I was going to be a marine biologist, not even really fully knowing what that meant. And then just kind of pursued that dream through middle school and into high school, and really kind of confirmed that science, and especially oceanic science, were what I was interested in. And so just kind of continued to follow that path, and that’s what has brought me back to NOAA in a few different ways throughout my career. 

WOLFGANG: I want to say that I was first drawn to teaching as a very young elementary student. And I didn’t really know where I wanted to go until I had some incredibly inspirational biology teachers in high school that led me to want to become a biology teacher as well. As my love for oceans and the atmosphere – that kind of came through this opportunity of being a Teacher at Sea. You know, I love all of biology, I really have, but, kind of fell in love with this after my incredible experience. 

GUEST HOST: One, Mark, I appreciate you bringing up your Teacher at Sea experience, and I’m really excited to dive into that in a bit. And I love the common thread of a figure in your life, whether it’s a parent or a teacher kind of guiding you in that sense. And Kacey, I’m jealous that you had a teacher that looked like Miss Frizzle. I used to love the Magic School Bus when I was younger, and that did kind of spark an interest in science in me at an early age, so I love that commonality. Last year, over 330,000 pre-K through 12 students participated in NOAA’s supported education programs. And keeping your younger self in mind, as we just discussed, why do you think it’s important to expand opportunities for young kids in STEM? 

WOLFGANG: I feel that’s an important time to expose kids to science, because this is when there is so much curiosity. Students are questioning things and they’re looking around and they’re so curious and somehow – and although this is frustrating – so often, we drum that out of them. And I think having great resources, especially at young ages, allows kids to become inspired. And I always believe that students don’t know about something and they can’t care about something until they experience or see something. And these resources allow us to do that in a classroom. 

CLAYTON: I feel really lucky that I had the experience with STEM when I did, because it really set me on a path for the rest of my – not only childhood, but also life – that I was really able to kind of have a guiding vision. But without that opportunity to really get that, you know, deep interest early on, I think I would have been a little bit more aimless, and it would have taken me a lot longer to end up where I am, or maybe I would have ended up somewhere different. Having those opportunities when you’re young, especially for women, especially folks who we don’t often see represented in the sciences, it really gives you an opportunity to see yourself in a career path that you may have not considered before. So I really feel the earlier that you can get students involved in STEM; the more varied experiences within STEM that you can give them, the better that you know we’re all going to end up for it. 

KOCH: Wonderful. Mark, Kacey, thanks so much for those. You know, just to add to that, the world that we’re facing is changing in so many ways. I mean, with artificial intelligence, we’re going to be able to get, you know, so much additional information and kids, particularly pre-K to 12 kids, are so curious. Like Mark said, it’s an awesome opportunity to help them understand the world around them, how they can shape it, and how they can make it move in a better direction.

SCHOEDINGER: This ocean planet that we live on, called Earth, is a big place. It’s a giant system of systems. And science and technology, engineering and mathematics give us ways for understanding. Maybe not the only ways of understanding, but definitely ways of knowing how this big blue marble functions. And there’s still a lot that we don’t know about how it functions. For instance, we have only explored and mapped about 20% of the ocean, so teaching STEM topics and skills to pre-kindergarten to 12th graders gives those naturally curious minds a way to explore and know the world around them. And who knows what those minds may come up with in terms of solutions to problems that we’re already facing, or those that we haven’t even seen yet?

GUEST HOST: Yeah, honestly, that reminds me of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I read the book and saw the – I think it was 1954 or 1955 – but the Kirk Douglas and James Mason movie when I was really young, and I think that’s what initially sparked my curiosity regarding the ocean. And learning the statistic later in my life that we’ve only mapped around 20% of the ocean was mind boggling to me. I mean, honestly, we might still be ready to discover creatures like what Jules Verne was writing about at the time. Sarah, I’d like to talk a little bit about informal education as well. Last year, 2 million individuals participated in NOAA-supported informal education programs. And as the manager of the Environmental Literacy Program, I’d love it if you could give us some background on that program and its connection to informal education. 

SCHOEDINGER: So the environmental literacy program at NOAA is primarily a grant program. Those grants support community resilience to climate change and other environmental hazards through both formal K-12 and informal education. Our projects, and we’ve funded 47 since 2015, have provided pathways for individuals across that broad age range to take action in their communities, making them more resilient in whatever ways are most critical for those communities, whether it’s combating drought and wildfires to handling extreme precipitation or flooding, or dealing with the impacts of sea level rise. And all of our projects leverage NOAA science and scientific expertise. You know, providing a mechanism for young people to take action is in itself a hopeful act. I do worry, I sort of caution that we remember that that doesn’t shift the burden from those of us who are older, maybe aren’t young people like myself anymore, from trying to take action as well. That it’s not just a convenient way to shift the burden to young people to take care of the problems that we helped create. But I think we also can be there to stand in support of the work that they want to do. 

GUEST HOST: A saying, or rather a line of thinking, that I see tossed around a lot by NOAA scientists and researchers is that we have a very significant responsibility to be good ancestors and leave behind a planet that is healthier than when we arrived on it. And I think working alongside and working with young people is the key there. And you’re absolutely correct that the burden can’t just be shifted on to them, but that collaboration becomes really, really important, as does giving young people a voice and not shutting it down just because they’re young and just because they might not have, you know, a degree in the fields that we’re discussing. Do you have any examples of any ELP projects that feel to you like a hopeful act that center young voices and young folks?

SCHOEDINGER; One of my favorite ones is actually based out in Tucson, Arizona, and it involved the installation of rainwater gardens, actually in local schoolyards. This rainwater garden both improved the landscape of the school, reduced runoff into the storm water system…and in Tucson, they go between drought and like monsoons, right. So they’ll have these periods of really heavy, heavy precipitation. And it was overwhelming their storm water system. Meanwhile they had all this runoff coming off their buildings and their grounds were barren and brown. And so they were transformed into this beautiful garden that might have even produced fruit or vegetables, in addition to just having beautiful plants that were there that were native. They were adapted to that environment. And it was like a triple win for everybody. Because in addition to making the space at the school more beautiful and maybe even producing food, reducing the runoff into the storm water system so it wasn’t as overwhelmed, it created a cooler space, like physically cooler space in the school environment. And the organization that installed these rainwater gardens worked with the teachers and the students to design the garden. And so it became this collaboration, and it was integrated into the curriculum. And then that was like a STEM laboratory long after it was installed. 

GUEST HOST: Sarah, I think that’s an extremely powerful example. I mean, you painted such a beautiful picture of what this project ended up creating. And I think creating a lasting, natural classroom in which students can continue to have field experiences is really important because it doesn’t just create change at a singular point in time, but it’s allowing both formal and informal environmental education to kind of continue indefinitely into the future as new classes of students come in and explore that garden. Louisa, let’s back up a little bit to those 330,000 pre-K through 12 students that have been participating in NOAA-supported formal education programs. I’d love it if you could talk to us a bit about the Office of Education and the actual programs it offers. And with that, how is NOAA supporting both students and teachers in STEM around the nation through these programs, including, to Kacey’s earlier point, those communities that we don’t often see represented in the sciences?

KOCH: So the Office of Education has three major roles. One is we have education grant programs, the Bay Watershed Education and Training Program, or the B-WET program. Then we have the Environmental Literacy Grants [Program], and both of these programs support educators across the country bringing resilience education or watershed education into classrooms. We also have programs that support students like Kacey, who are really talented and have, you know, lots of curiosity and want to come and learn. And we support them through scholarships, and internships. And then we also have a convening role with NOAA where we connect and support and leverage our programs, wonderful education programs across NOAA. For example, the Teacher at Sea program that Mark has participated in. Our national marine sanctuaries have amazing places where we can bring people to visit. Our National Estuarine Research reserves also support a lot of education embedded in communities, and they’re wonderful living laboratories. Our weather forecast offices invite people to come in and learn about weather. NOAA has so many different education resources. 

GUEST HOST: Awesome. Thank you, Louisa. And you’re absolutely correct that we have a true NOAA higher education success story on our panel today, which would be Kacey. And Kacey, I would love it if you could talk to us a bit more about your experience as both a Hollings Scholar in undergrad and a Knauss Fellow in grad school. What have these programs been like, and what have you learned from your time in both of these programs?

CLAYTON: Thank you. That’s super kind, and I’m not sure I deserve all that praise, but I have had a really great experience with NOAA, both in my undergraduate years and then now post postgraduate degree. So I was the NOAA Hollings Scholar from 2016 to 2018, when I was a junior and senior at the College of Charleston. I had a fantastic experience in the Hollings program. It was my first real career opportunity. and it was great to get that while still in college. I actually interned with the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve for a summer, and worked on our coastal training program. So I at that point knew that I was interested in policy, and the applied piece of science, and so was able to use that internship to kind of explore what a nontraditional career in science, one that’s not research-based might look like, and knew that I was interested in the Knauss Fellowship program, which had actually been mentioned to me when I was a Hollings Scholar. I applied and I was accepted, which is super exciting. And now working in the office of the NOAA administrator, and I work on the infrastructure team, which does all of the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law dollars, of which NOAA has over 6 billion. This has also been a really fantastic experience even deeper into the policy area, which is really where I see my career going. Both Hollings and Knauss have allowed me to just grow and experience so many different things, and I just really benefited from the folks around me who I’ve gotten to work with. I’ve had some incredible mentors during both experiences that have really been interested not only in what I can do when I’m, you know, either interning or working for their office, but also what I can do past that time. And they really invested in me as a person. and I’ve just really gotten to benefit from both of these programs. 

GUEST HOST: Yeah, absolutely. And, Kacey, I appreciate that you’re bringing a science policy and science communications-focused angle to these fellowships and to these opportunities. I think that being able to communicate about science and about the change that our world is undergoing at the moment is really, really important, particularly when a large swath of the population may not have the science background or familiarity with often really complex processes that are happening all around us right now. So having that policy and communications focus, I think is really important and is definitely inspirational to students that may be approaching from a more humanities focused background. 

CLAYTON: I think for so long science has been a really kind of insular field. We publish big research papers that are often behind paywalls and use big jargon words. You know, the solutions that we need for the issues that are facing our planet are going to require us to reach past, you know, that paywall, past those big words, and connect with other folks. And I think that the solutions that we need for the problems that are facing our planet are going to require us to work across disciplines, whether that’s, you know, social sciences and humanities, whether that’s policy and politics. This is a new future. And I think it’s something that the scientific community is really starting to embrace.

GUEST HOST: Kacey, I think you make a great point about incorporating more disciplines to kind of level the playing field when it comes to climate science specifically, so that folks can understand the changes that our planet is going through. And so I’d like to open this up to anybody. What role do you think other disciplines can play in deepening and understanding of climate science in our population? And what might those disciplines be?

SCHOEDINGER: I have a philosophy undergraduate degree. Most people don’t know that. I think we sometimes get this false competition between STEM and the arts and humanities and it’s not helpful because really science is a creative endeavor. And sometimes when you step away from the way that we do science, especially with a sort of Western viewpoint of the scientific enterprise, we step away from that and you look at things through, you know, through the skills of arts or storytelling. It just forces you to think about things in a different way that actually might be inspiration for solving a problem, you know, in a STEM situation.

KOCH: Sarah, I would love to jump in because science needs to connect with so many disciplines. I mean, for example, economics because we need to start taking science more carefully into account, particularly climate change in terms of the economic impacts. Art; we need to figure out ways to convey what we’ve learned through science in ways that are better able to touch people, better able to connect with them. Social science. Some people don’t consider that, you know, a core part of hard science. But that’s where we’re going to find out how we can change what we’re doing, how we can move our approaches in society to navigate a better future. Just so many different fields need to be connected to science. 

GUEST HOST: Absolutely and completely agree. So, as Louisa mentioned earlier, the Office of Education has plenty of programming available to teachers, and that the NOAA Education Division doesn’t just benefit students, it’s about our teachers too. Tens of thousands of educators have participated in NOAA-supported professional development programs each year. And with that, Mark, I would love to ask you a little bit more about your experience as a Teacher at Sea. What kind of work were you engaging in and what was it like to be aboard the Reuben Lasker? 

WOLFGANG: So we were doing an anchovy survey. I was out for two weeks, about 12 days on sea. I never experienced something like this before. I was the only educator on board, so, quite nervous as I went and left my family from the East Coast and moved, went to the West Coast. I think one of the really interesting things about it is, in those 12 days, I didn’t see a single anchovy. And it kind of made science look a little more real, because in science, we so often in science classes…we so often try to create experiences for students that are so clear cut, with data that just comes out perfectly. It was nice to experience something where the data was kind of messy and muddy, and that zero was definitely a data point that we had to kind of deal with.

GUEST HOST: Mark, if you didn’t see any anchovies, I am curious as to what you did see. What were some of the memorable moments you experienced onboard the ship? 

WOLFGANG: We always went to fish at night. It was like…my shift was like midnight to 1…to noon the next day. And there was a huge number of an animal called [pyrosomes]. They were just in incredible quantities, but we didn’t get a huge number of [anchovies] because of that. We got a lot of squid and things like that, and it was such a great experience to take pictures of those organisms. I went when school was in session, so I was able to communicate back those things with my students that next day in class. And it was really a cool experience to be able to do that. 

GUEST HOST: Yeah, that’s pretty incredible. And I’ll just add for folks that if you’re interested in exploring the blogs and the stories from other Teachers at Sea, you can visit the Teacher at Sea website and see in real time what our Teachers at Sea, our 2024 cohort, are cataloging and experiencing right now. Mark, how has being a Teacher at Sea impacted your classroom experience on dry land, whether that was your teaching or how you were engaging with your students or another factor? 

WOLFGANG: You mentioned that I teach zoology, so there is an obvious connection between the animals that I talk about in that class and my students. But, I really think of this Teacher at Sea experience as a start of a journey that I’ve taken over the last 7 or 8 years to try to really dramatically shift the way we teach biology in my district and in districts around us in order to kind of get away from teaching science in little silos where you’re teaching it Unit Six and it has this content…instead to try to understand how all these sciences, all are woven together, how one concept is not only applicable in one area, but in all kind of areas of biology. And it’s really been a journey of mine to try to figure out how to stop teaching kids to be really good test takers and start teaching kids to be good scientists, understanding how to deal with data and understanding how your knowledge of photosynthesis just doesn’t impact that one area, that one content unit – it impacts all of biology. And so it was really the start of that journey, because it was the first time I got to truly experience this kind of raw science, right? Because I went from college directly into the classroom. And so I didn’t have a lot of fieldwork experience. And this was a great refresher of that kind of idea in my career. 

GUEST HOST: You know, part of being a good scientist, like you mentioned, isn’t about getting all the right answers on exams and quizzes, but knowing what questions to ask and what kinds of tools you can use to get answers to those questions. And I think that’s really a cross-disciplinary skill as we’ve been discussing the importance of bringing in more disciplines to make science more accessible. Mark, I think earlier, you also mentioned that students might not always care about something or understand something until they can see it in front of them, or touch it, or have it be tangible. And Louisa, you mentioned the possibility of connecting with people when it comes to science on a human level with disciplines like art. So I’d love to ask all of you, what role do you think informal learning institutions that kind of incorporate multiple disciplines, whether that’s museums or aquariums or field experiences through programs like B-WET…what role do these informal learning institutions play in science education and climate literacy? 

SCHOEDINGER: There is broad consensus among educational researchers that 80% of our lifelong learning takes place outside of a classroom and formal course of study. If you look at the learning that occurs over a person’s lifetime, only 20% of that is that compulsory formal education. The rest of it happens outside of that, and a lot of that takes place in museums, aquariums, zoos, parks, forests, and a lot of other places, even online, where people go because they enjoy it and they can take in as much or as little at that time, and they can take as much time to do the learning as they’re comfortable with.

CLAYTON:  For me, aquariums were a huge part of my growth as a scientist and as someone who was pursuing a science field. I grew up in the DC area, and while we’re not that far from the water, we’re also not that close to the ocean either. And like I said, I fell in love when I was seven and, you know, had that marine biologist dream career goal in my head then. My parents were so kind to take me to aquariums all up and down the East Coast. So anytime we went on a trip, we’d always make a stop. And I just got to really be curious and be involved in science and see so many things you just don’t often have the opportunity to experience, that I really wouldn’t have until college otherwise without these institutions. And then I was able to kind of turn that around when I was in undergrad and volunteer at an aquarium, and be able to be the person who was helping create those connections for students. 

KOCH: Kacey, that’s so good to hear your personal story. And I think more broadly, aquariums, science museums, science centers are really good at making science fun, exciting, connected to their visitors. And so I feel so lucky that NOAA gets to work with these kinds of institutions because they do such a good job communicating science in ways that touch people.

WOLFGANG: I see these institutions as just great resources for classroom teachers. And I, of course, you know, as a kid, I also went to all those museums and science centers, but as a teacher, I see the resources they have available. And I have also opportunities to bring teachers together from different school districts that are able to share ideas and to see people who are like-minded about being passionate about science education. These types of institutions are in a unique position to create those opportunities for us as classroom teachers. 

GUEST HOST: Yeah, Mark, absolutely agree with that. My aunt is a grade school science teacher and I grew up in Chicago, Illinois, so she had a membership to the Museum of Science and Industry, and I would go with her on the weekends and genuinely would learn something new every single time I was there, even though we would go back pretty frequently. And, Kacey, I appreciate you bringing up aquariums. I currently live in the DC area and on a weekend I love to make it out to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Our host, Symone Barkley, actually played a huge role in shaping a lot of the educational programming at that aquarium, which I got to take advantage of before even coming to NOAA. I remember going there and getting to touch fish, and the, you know, the interactive ponds that they have set up. It definitely changed my perspective on marine life just because I didn’t grow up near the ocean. But you can still get kind of up close and personal with these organisms and with these mammals, and it can really shape the way that you think about the planet around you. So I appreciate each of you kind of going through that. I would love to ask each of you if you could share one message with people that are interested in NOAA science, whether it’s our oceans, whether climate, atmosphere, or even space weather, whether it’s young folks or folks who are no longer in school, what would that one message be?

SCHOEDINGER: Well, I would tell them to know that there is a wide range of careers possible, and some career paths haven’t even been thought of yet. So don’t try to specialize too early. And don’t forget about learning in the arts and humanities. Think about developing skills and knowledge that may not seem directly related to a STEM career pathway, because we just don’t know what those careers are going to be tomorrow. They haven’t been thought up yet. The second thing I would say is develop critical thinking skills, because those can help you pivot when old ways of knowing and doing things are no longer working. And the last piece of advice I would give is bring your whole self to your pursuit of that interest, because we need as many perspectives and life experiences in our workforce as possible.

WOLFGANG: Well, if I could deliver one message, I would deliver it to teachers. To take advantage of the opportunities that NOAA provides on the educational side, and look for opportunities to grow. I think so often we can get so inundated with the day to day. As a classroom teacher, I’m looking for opportunities to grow as a scientist. To grow as a teacher was just great, and NOAA has powerful resources out there, and I just want to encourage teachers to take advantage of what they have.

KOCH: I would want young people interested in science to know that they can make a difference. We need to better understand how humans are affecting the Earth system and how the Earth system is affecting humans, and we need people to come and help us do that in so many ways. So I want them to know they can make a difference. 

CLAYTON: I really love that, Louisa. I would say especially for students to be curious and be open to new things and don’t be afraid to say yes to something that’s a little bit outside what you see yourself doing, because some of those experiences have been the most important ones for me.

GUEST HOST: Sarah, Kacey, Mark, Louisa – thank you all so much for joining us today. 

[Did You NOAA theme music plays]

HOST: Welcome back, Tara. You know, a lot of meteorologists I’ve spoken to have referenced “Twister” as a lightning rod for their career path. 

GARWOOD: Yeah, the original 1996 blockbuster has been on our radar for a long time. Symone, did you NOAA that in the decade following the original movie’s release, bachelors degrees in meteorology across the U.S. increased by nearly 50%? If you’ve seen “Twister,” you’ll remember all the shots of NSSL forecasters analyzing and sending out tornado warnings in Oklahoma. Well, we spoke to Larry Hopper, Chief of the NSSL Radar Research and Development Division, about the impact that “Twister” had on his career! Here’s what he shared with us: 

LARRY HOPPER: Well, the interesting thing is I always wanted to be a meteorologist since I was probably, you know, maybe five years old. I think I had visited my local TV stations in the late 80s and got to meet some of the legendary meteorologists that we had here at the time. And then that kind of just blossomed over time, working on science fair projects, observing different events that had happened, whether I was out, you know, practicing baseball as a kid and seeing, you know, tremendous storms that were moving in that would cause us to have to finish those games or just, you know, pay attention to the TV and the weather. I mean, we’ve always had a lot of coverage here in Oklahoma City, even dating back to the early 90s for significant weather events. So it was an exciting time from a movie standpoint for filming “Twister” in Oklahoma, which, there’d not been really that many movies filmed in Oklahoma up to that point. So obviously there was a lot of excitement about trying to be, you know, extras in that, and a lot of people were extras. Unfortunately, I think I missed the age cutoff by a year, year and a half or so. But it was something that really was kind of cool that time because not a lot of movies focus on Oklahoma, and even the ones that did weren’t necessarily filmed here. I think the biggest impact that “Twister” had in 1996 on future incoming classes at the University of Oklahoma, is that it really drew a lot more attention than was already on OU in terms of bringing students from other states to OU. Certainly, I think we always had a lot of students here regionally within the state of Oklahoma. But I think in my graduating class and even my incoming class, the vast majority of students were not from Oklahoma because of how many people were attracted to come here from other states. And it wasn’t just Texas. It was all over the country, from Virginia to California. 

HOST: That’s incredible. We’ll keep riding the winds of “Twister” right after this.

[Leadership Corner theme music plays]

HOST: Let’s take a quick trip to the Leadership Corner. I’m here with Jainey Bavishi, NOAA’s Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy Administrator. Jainey is a distinguished expert in climate adaptation and resilience. She recently served in the New York City Mayor’s Office as director of the Office of Climate Resiliency, in addition to serving as the associate director for climate preparedness at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Jainey is a huge proponent of educational programming and youth advocacy here at NOAA, so I’m really excited to welcome her today!

JAINEY BAVISHI: Thanks so much, Symone, for having me. And thank you all for tuning in. 

HOST: Thanks for joining us, Jainey. You’ve served in some pretty transformative roles related to climate change. What does it mean to you to advance climate resilience, conservation and equity in your role as #2 at NOAA?

BAVISHI: Well, thanks so much for the question. You know, I am so privileged and honored to be here at NOAA at this time in this role. I get to come into work every day, and I’m focused on equitable, proactive climate adaptation and resilience to advance a climate-ready nation, healthy and resilient oceans and coasts, and our Blue Economy, and sustainable fisheries. And one of the things that I’ve been particularly interested in focusing on in my time at NOAA is how NOAA delivers its science and services to communities equitably, and to answer the questions that they’re asking in their communities because not everyone is the same or facing the same challenges. And the projects that I’m working on at NOAA and really championing are meant to reach communities that have been historically under-resourced. There are many communities that have borne the brunt of unjust policies. And climate change is a risk magnifier. So we know that climate change will only exacerbate the injustices that communities already face.

HOST: So could you give us an example of a project you’re involved in that’s helping NOAA reach under-resourced communities? 

BAVISHI: Absolutely. You know, last summer I got to attend an event to celebrate a NOAA Office of Education Environmental Literacy Program grant to a community based organization in the Bronx called Nos Quedamos. And Nos Quedamos is working to build resilience hubs in neighborhoods in the area that are low income, historically under-resourced, but also facing some of the brunt of the climate impacts in New York City, from sea level rise to extreme heat. And what was really great to see in that area was how they’re engaging local youth leaders to educate their peers and neighbors about these resilience hubs to effectively activate them. It was really inspiring, and one of the things that I’m working on is how we can ensure that our grantmaking dollars at NOAA are reaching underserved communities consistently. There are bureaucratic barriers, you know, cumbersome application processes or just not being in the know about where to find the next grant opportunity that prevent us from reaching underserved communities. And we want to make sure that we’re making our grantmaking processes as streamlined as possible, and eliminating those barriers that are within our control as an agency to remove, so that we can make sure that we’re equitably distributing these grant funds and reaching more organizations like Nos Quedamos. 

HOST: Keeping on the track of building climate resilience for different groups, what work is NOAA doing that impacts young people around the nation and young people interested in advancing climate solutions? 

BAVISHI: Just like with Nos Quedamos, I’ve just been so inspired by the engagement and leadership from youth all around our country as I get to, you know, visit different communities and see the work that’s happening. And it couldn’t come at a better time, right? Like, we’re in this historical moment where we have an unprecedented amount of funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to support community resilience at a scale that we’ve never seen before. And this allows, you know, our nation’s communities to prepare for the impacts of climate change. Some of the exciting work that we’ve been able to fund are things like the Climate-Ready Workforce program, which I got to help announce just last month. And it’s a program where we’re supporting nine amazing projects that will train and place workers in good paying jobs to combat the climate crisis in their communities. It’s $60 million towards nine projects. So what’s so exciting about this is that we already have young people that are activated and that are engaged and just playing an important, crucial leadership role in their community around climate action and climate solutions. And then in parallel, we’re making investments, the first of their kind, creating more jobs and workforce opportunities in climate resilience, which is a field that we’ve never really thought about as its own job sector before. And these are good paying, enduring jobs. So I’m just really excited about how these two things converge, about seeing this new generation of climate leaders go into climate jobs. 

HOST: Great to hear that NOAA is continuing to engage with young people to build climate resilience and create climate solutions, especially since young people today are going to be the leaders of tomorrow. And yes, that includes even our littles. A couple of months ago, the NOAA Ocean Today team premiered the agency’s first-ever animated series, “Teek and Tom Explore Planet Earth!” And yes, y’all, Tom is our very own Tom DiLiberto – your favorite NOAA in the News correspondent. That’s right, I said animated. He has an animated character modeled after him. Teek and Tom, which is intended for 4th through 7th graders, explores how the ocean influences weather and climate on Earth, how NOAA uses cool tech to gather weather data, and what this data tells us about our planet. Jainey, it was great to watch you introduce Teek and Tom at the show premiere. Can you tell us about the show and how it connects with your priorities?

BAVISHI: It was really awesome to be at the premiere of Teek and Tom, and to watch the first episode with NOAA employees and their families. So, yeah, as you said, Tom is our own Tom DiLiberto, a climate scientist at NOAA; he’s the star of the show. And Teek is a visitor from another planet who is very curious about Earth’s ocean, climate and weather. And together, they learn about our planet and what’s needed to protect our planet, so that Teek can take these lessons back to their home planet, Qualos. You know, I think that this is just an amazing example of the ingenuity that it really takes to reach people with information about climate science and data and meet them where they’re at. I got to watch Teek and Tom with my five year old daughter at home. And it was just great to see her engage with questions about science while watching this series. And we need a season two because she was ready for more. This is one of the things that I’ve really been focused on, as I said before, you know, meeting people where they’re at with climate science and information, recognizing not everyone’s the same. So whether it’s kids curious about their planet or doctors who are seeing more cases of heat related illness and need more information to be ready and prepared to care for their patients, or affordable housing developers who need to design their buildings so that they are flood resilient…we’ve got just this exponential increase in people who need climate information. 

HOST: It’s great to hear that you and your daughter enjoyed the series. I’m also looking forward to watching it with my daughter, who’s just turned one…

Bavishi: You gotta start them early. 

HOST: [laughs] When you’re watching this series, listen closely because you might hear a familiar voice. It’s me, your trusty host, as you guessed it, a teacher. So make sure you check it out. I hope you all enjoy Teek and Tom. As adults – and as scientists – our legacy is really the world we leave behind for young people. What do you want our young folks to know about what NOAA is doing as it relates to conservation?

BAVISHI: Right now, we’re in the middle of an unprecedented season when it comes to ocean conservation, where the Biden administration has led one of the most active marine sanctuary designation processes since the 1990s, with six sites in the designation process, including the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary in California, which would be co-stewarded with Indigenous people who have stewarded these waters for thousands of years. So it’s a really exciting time. And this is all a part of the Biden-Harris administration’s America the Beautiful program, which aims to conserve 30% of our lands and waters by 2030. We’re so excited about these designation processes and the partnerships that have led to them. This is just an incredible opportunity to advance locally-led conservation and restoration in public, private and tribal lands and waters. And also address threats from climate change, the disappearance of nature; address the inequitable access to the outdoors. But, you know, I am particularly excited also about the momentum this has created with our partners outside of government. And on that note, you know, we just signed an MOU, a memorandum of understanding with Earth Echo, which is one of our nonprofit partners, to enhance youth engagement and ocean conservation. So youth are already so active in this space. You know, they’re watching these designation processes, they’re actively involved. And we want to expand that and build on that. But we also want to make it accessible. You know, what does conservation success look like after we reach 30%? Maybe it’s not the next national marine sanctuary, although, you know, I’m sure there will be more of those, but maybe it’s also the salt marsh in a community that’s just really important because it’s a retention area for stormwater, and it helps keep the roads dry. So I think connecting conservation with community priorities is a space to watch as this work continues, and just seeing the diverse voices that our conservation community is attracting, especially youth voices, is going to be another exciting space.

HOST: Jainey, I’m so glad to hear you talk about national marine sanctuaries and their role in conserving marine habitats and environments, and I know that they can be critical to helping young people connect with the environment and feel confident about wanting to protect them. What’s ahead for NOAA this year that gets you excited, and what gives you hope right now as our planet continues to be transformed by climate change?

BAVISHI: I think there’s a lot to be excited about, and I think that I’m particularly excited about getting into implementation. You know, the last couple of years, we have been able to deploy a lot of these dollars that came through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, and now it’s time to get to work. And so whether it’s, you know, projects through the Climate-Ready Workforce program, which I mentioned earlier, or the Transformational Habitat Restoration program, or, you know, just recently announced the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, I’m really excited to see those dollars hit the ground and starting to see the impact that they’re making in communities. It’s really important to sort of get your head around what these dollars mean to some of these communities, right? Let’s just talk about the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge for a second. It was a $575 million program funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. We received $16 billion in eligible applications. That means that the demand was 28 times the funding available. And the reason I say that is that, you know, as I was making the calls, to let grantees know that that they had been selected, or their members of Congress, I mean, literally some people just broke down crying on the phone because they said that they had waited a lifetime to receive funding like this. These communities have been laying the groundwork and the foundation for these projects for decades. You know, they’ve been hard at work already, and these dollars are going to hit at a time when they really can bring this work to the next level. So I can’t wait to see what that looks like. I can’t wait to see what they do with the money. And again, just, you know, the people that are served; the transformational impact that’s made.

HOST: Really glad to hear that, Jainey. And you can visit noaa.gov for more information. Jainey, thanks so much for joining us today on the Planet NOAA podcast. It’s been a pleasure.

BAVISHI: I really appreciate this chance to chat with you. And, you know, I’m excited about the work ahead. And, thank you.

[Did You NOAA theme music plays]

HOST: Tara, I’m glad to hear that “Twister” inspired so many people to pursue careers in meteorology. But I have to imagine that folks have some beef with the way storms – and storm chasers – are portrayed in the movie. 

GARWOOD: It’s a love-hate relationship, that’s for sure! We would definitely not advise riding out a tornado in a barn filled with blades – or a highway underpass, for that matter. And the flying cows may have been a bit much. 

HOST: Ok, see, I was thinking more along the lines of Helen Hunt’s makeup and clothes staying impeccable throughout the movie. That shirt remains bright white through how many tornadoes??

GARWOOD: Yeah, Helen Hunt’s character, Jo, has definitely caught some flack for that. And our meteorologists see that, too. Dr. Elizabeth Smith, a research meteorologist at NSSL, shared the following: 

ELIZABETH SMITH: I was really young when “Twister” first came out; I was probably about six. Doing field work in the last 5 to 10 years, I, unfortunately…I’m still one of relatively few women that are often out in the field doing this kind of severe weather fieldwork. Often I’m the only person that kind of looks like me right out there with mostly men. So whenever I’m working with my instruments, I’m, you know, standing in the bed of a truck. Oftentimes from colleagues and also just from members of the public, I would get these comments about how I remind them of Jo. Like, “Oh, what’re you doing, Jo, back there?” when I’m climbing on the back of an instrument or something like this. And in the earlier parts of my career, that was sometimes pretty frustrating, to kind of be reduced to that as the only example of a woman in the field that people have in mind. But my opinion of that has changed as I’ve been in the field for a longer part of my career, and I have a bit more comfort in my own role. I’ve been able to look at that a little bit differently and understand how important it was, as it was for me, for people, even in the mid-90s, to see a strong female character doing science in the field and leading others doing science in the field. I am able to be there and do these things because of people that are embodied in the character of Jo. There are women that came before me that have made the space for me to be able to do the work that I do. In the new “Twisters” movie, we see a lot more women in general. We see women students, women that are chasing as part of a hobby, so hobbyist chasers, that are women. We have a main character in “Twisters” as well that is a woman. And somewhat similar to the character of Jo, this woman has a very strong presence in the field and her presence is valued. So it’s nice to still see that being carried with the main character, but it’s also nice to see so many supporting roles showing that there are women doing this work, and there are women interested in severe weather, and there are women out there collecting these data. In addition to women, there’s also just more diversity in general that we see in “Twisters” compared to the cast in the background kind of cast of “Twister.” And I think that’s also an important part of how we are starting to see some change in our own field and change in the fieldwork that we do, and I’m really hopeful that this is indicative of a future in which anyone that is excited about fieldwork, especially as a scientist excited about fieldwork, has the access and the comfort and safety to go out and get to see this really cool stuff.

HOST: I love that take. You can visit noaa.gov/twisters to learn more about tornado science and NOAA staff behind the scenes of the new “Twisters” movie.

[Planet NOAA theme music plays]

HOST: Thanks for joining us on Planet NOAA, where we explore cool science throughout the NOAAverse and ensure that people are prepared for tomorrow’s planet, today. Tune in next month on your podcast player of choice to dive into marine aquaculture and sustainability.