DEEPEND: Diving into Education at All Depths

Effective education and outreach capacity is essential for science communication to students, resource managers, stakeholders, and the public at large. The DEEPEND Consortium has developed a multisectoral education/outreach program to affect this communication. The Consortium has an integrated approach to convey the foundational concepts of DEEPEND projects (community ecology, from microbes to large fishes; animal mapping with acoustics; food web studies; monitoring of important oceanic fisheries (e.g., tuna); genetic studies to understand diversity; contaminant studies, using advanced biochemistry; and advanced oceanographic studies to understand open ocean habitats). An educational partnership with WhaleTimes, Inc. has focused on K-6 education through “virtual missions” with the DEEPEND team, reaching over 10,000 students to date. Deep-sea teacher workshops are the focus of Grade 8-12 educators, which includes “Teacher-at-sea” experience on every DEEPEND research cruise. An animated DEEPEND mascot, Squirt the Squid , delivers educational messages to children and adults of all ages. Management, stakeholder, and public outreach components include: presentations at scientific and management meetings (e.g., SeaGrant, Ocean Sciences); public engagement at special events (e.g., fishing tournaments, charity events); media engagement with reporters (magazine, newspapers, and radio), highlight stories with editors (e.g., Sport Fishing Magazine) and federal entities (e.g., Smithsonian Institution Ocean Portal ); documentary participation (e.g., BBC Oceans , GoMRI documentaries); DEEPEND educational displays at zoos and aquaria (e.g., San Antonio Zoo, Oregon Coast Aquarium); online products in the form of project synopses and education modules; and printed materials, which are distributed freely.