Schools

Ormewood Park Student Selected for International Oceanic Program


ORMEWOOD PARK —
Mei-Jing Bernard, a home schooled student, is one of 15 U.S. school-age teens selected to participate in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2013 Ocean for Life program at the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary from June 22 through July 4.

Ocean for Life is an educational field study program that enhances cultural understanding among high school students through ocean science. The program is a partnership between NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the GLOBE - Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment - Program and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Ocean for Life is a unique program that brings together Middle Eastern and North American high school students of diverse cultures and backgrounds to study marine science, and in the course of that, break down stereotypes and strengthen global relationships.

The premise is simple but powerful: we are all connected by the ocean, and by studying the ocean, we can learn about improving stewardship of the planet and ourselves: one world, one ocean. Mei-Jing is one of 30 students, including 15 from the Greater Middle East, who were selected out of nearly 400 applicants for the program. The American students hail from Mississippi, Michigan, Virginia, Georgia, Oregon, Florida, New York, California, Illinois, North Carolina, Hawaii and Washington, D.C.

Fifteen students were selected by the GLOBE Program from the Greater Middle East, including Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Mei-Jing completed the highly competitive application process in the spring by writing a series of essays on the importance of the ocean, the interconnectedness of the world's ocean and how local actions impact the ocean, and her ideas for promoting ocean conservation.

Mei-Jing is a rising senior who pursues her environmental conservation interests through wandering around Constitution Lakes, her local wetland, and volunteering with Concrete Jungle, an urban foraging organization.

She spends her free time building robots for FIRST robotics competitions and practicing guitar. She is also a member of the Atlanta Chinese Dance Company.

The Ocean for Life program has its origins in the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. Among the victims of the tragedy that day were three DC public school students, their three teachers and two National Geographic Society staff who were on their way to the west coast to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary to study marine science in a precursor education program run by NOAA.

After 9/11, NOAA reshaped the program to address some of the root causes that were at the heart of the tragedy. A short and powerful video that provides some background can be found at http://oceanforlife.org/page/ofl-projects or directly at http:// youtu.be/kFJunYi8qDs.

The 2013 field study is hosted by Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the University of California Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute.

Close to the California mainland, the sanctuary encompasses the ocean environment surrounding Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara Islands, and protects a rich diversity of marine life. The Ocean for Life program is designed around three main themes: a sense of place, interconnectedness, and ocean conservation and stewardship.

Activities focus on ocean science and exploration, cultural exchanges, stewardship activities, such as beach cleanups and the development of youth media projects. Students will document their experiences through video and still photography, mentored by staff from Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society Media Camp and American University’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking.

The lead sponsor for the 2013 Ocean for Life field study to Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is the Qatar Foundation International with additional funding support from Khalid bin Sultan’s Living Oceans Foundation and the Ettinger Foundation. Ocean for Life is supported by a host of public and private interests that contribute instruction, use of facilities and reduced fees to participating students.


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