The NOAA Marine Debris Program and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation announced a Request for Proposals for the Ocean Odyssey Marine Debris Awards for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility. The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation expects to award 10-15 grants, totaling approximately $75,000 for this funding competition. Typical awards sizes will range between $5,000 and $7,500 to support communities that are underserved, underrepresented, or overburdened and promote initiatives that investigate and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris. Projects may include marine debris prevention, research, monitoring, detection, response, removal, and coordination activities. Proposal activities throughout the coastal United States, Great Lakes, territories, and Freely Associated States are eligible for consideration. Full proposals are due on December 18, 2023.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program in collaboration with the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries released a new report that aims to identify the prevalent types of marine debris and their distribution along the shoreline of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This detailed report analyzes the findings in order to assess potential sources and how marine debris moves throughout the sanctuary. This report was created with Marine Debris Program support and is published in collaboration with the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and California Marine Sanctuary Foundation. It summarizes data collected from 2017 to 2021 during marine debris cleanups across the entire 276 miles of shoreline in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Enlisting 37,000 volunteers to collect data through over 4,500 surveys, the study determined that 95% of the debris within the sanctuary accounted for three primary human activities: eating and drinking, smoking, and various activities. The analysis found that involving volunteers, or citizen scientists, provides a more extensive, geographically diverse data set that encourages a greater sense of stewardship of the environment.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) released a short video highlighting a recently completed field training aboard the USCG Cutter Blackfin, in collaboration with the Great Lakes National Center of Excellence and OR&R, to advance oil spill response using uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). OR&R recently led a week-long training for Coast Guard UAS (or drone) pilots to effectively use UAS to provide “eyes on the water” for responders after an oil spill. The training equipped the pilots with the skills to collect information about oiling, including from a working response vessel, to provide data and information in near-real time. This capability enables responders and decision makers to minimize environmental impact in real-time. OR&R and USCG have a longstanding partnership, aimed at strengthening prevention, preparedness and response to environmental emergencies.

An educator with the NOAA Marine Debris Program recently led a panel presentation at the North American Association for Environmental Education 2023 Virtual Conference titled “Reduce, Reuse, Reinvent: Perspectives on Zero Waste Schools Preventing Marine Debris.” The presentation’s panel included representatives from three Marine Debris Program grantees: One Cool Earth, who supports school garden and waste reduction programming in California’s Central Coast; Eckerd College, who has led two initiatives to reduce plastic waste at the college level in Florida; and Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, who has worked with rural middle schools to reduce lunchroom waste. Panelists discussed their work, adaptations to COVID school closures, and inspiring stories from their experiences with students and communities. Twenty educators attended the session to learn more about zero-waste initiatives in schools, and more are expected to view the presentation recording. The Marine Debris Program had an additional presentation which highlighted the Marine Debris Program’s annual art contest for K-8th grade students.

On October 19, 70 individuals from across NOAA joined millions of others worldwide from beneath their desks and tables, in celebration of International ShakeOut Day. This annual event is held on the third Thursday of October and is the largest earthquake drill in the world. According to the United States Geological Survey, about 1 in 10 people in the U.S. now live in high-hazard areas where strong shaking is likely during their lifetimes. Additionally, about a third of the population live in places where very strong shaking from rare earthquakes is anticipated. With so many people living, working, or traveling to areas of high or moderate seismic activity, it’s important for everyone, everywhere to know how to protect themselves when the earth starts to shake. For the third year in a row, NOAA’s Homeland Security Program Office and OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program facilitated this 30 minute virtual life-saving earthquake drill, covering what to do and how to respond in the case of a ground rattling temblor and tsunami. This year’s exercise included a discussion on the most prevalent and dangerous earthquake safety myths, to empower participants to separate fact from fiction. The Great Shakeout serves as a valuable reminder that taking the time to review, practice, and update your earthquake safety preparedness at home and at work is now.