1 Hour Workshops Offered During Session One (4:30-5:30)

1B. System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP): Real-time Monitoring Data at Your Fingertips  presented by Kaitlin Gannon, Education Coordinator, Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve.  The NERRS System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) collects environmental monitoring data such as water, weather and nutrients on coastal habitats. This data can be accessed by anyone, used by local decision makers, aquaculture farmers, and researchers. SWMP can also be a great educational tool to enhance data literacy. This presentation includes a SWMP introduction, how to access SWMP, and lessons that incorporate the data.

1C. Piping Plover, an Endangered Beach Nesting Bird in New Jersey: What Does its Future Hold in an Age of Climate Change?  presented by Todd Pover, Senior Wildlife Biologist, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.  The piping plover, a state endangered shorebird that nests on New Jersey's beaches, is at-risk from a number of threats, including predators, human disturbance, habitat loss, and flooding. As climate change and sea level rise accelerate, what impacts will that have on this tiny shorebird that already faces a precarious existence living on an ever-changing beach habitat. Todd Pover, who has studied and protected piping plovers and other beach nesting birds for 25 years, will provide a glimpse into their fascinating behavior and biology, as well as what is being done to protect them. He will discuss how climate change may impact their recovery, a surprising complicated scenario linked to their unique habitat needs.

1D. Paddle for the Edge: Citizen Scientists Monitoring Our Changing Shorelines  presented by Martha Maxwell Doyle, Project Coordinator, and Emily Pirl, Field Technician, Barnegat Bay Partnership.  "Paddle for the Edge" is an annual citizen science data collection event. Volunteer paddlers are trained to use a smart phone app to collect data about the condition of Barnegat Bay shorelines. The data is useful to planners and resource managers in many ways - providing information about flooding and storm impacts, predicting how shorelines may react to sea-level rise, and identifying potential restoration areas. In this session, educators will learn about the types of data collected and how scientists and students can use it.

1 Hour Workshops Offered During Session Two (5:40-6:40)

2E. Connecting Students with Climate Change  presented by Mindy Voss and Rosemary Higgins of NJ Sea Grant Consortium.  Educators will learn strategic framing techniques to effectively communicate climate change, especially to children. In this session, educators will learn best practices on how to introduce climate change in a classroom setting, teach impacts with inquiry based hands-on activities, and create student driven solutions to encourage positive action while encouraging appreciation for the environment. The activities include lesson plans for each participant that satisfies Next Generation Science Standards.

2F. Biodiversity, Living Shorelines and Water Quality  presented by Chris West of ReClam the Bay.  The effects of climate change are evident in our watershed, including in the Barnegat Bay. Biodiversity and living shorelines can offer resilience, resistence and stability. Shellfish play an important role in these defenses, and also ensure high water quality. Through interactive, hands-on lessons we will demonstrate how to teach these concepts to your students and provide them with the tools and inspiration they need to become stewards of our changing watershed.

2G. The Water Cycle and Climate Change  presented by Dr. Steve Yergeau, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County.  Watersheds undergo changes due to development, landscape management and increased impervious cover that all impact the water cycle. Less water infiltrates into the soil, more frequent floods happen and more polluted stormwater enters our rivers and lakes. Climate change will bring increased precipitation and stormwater, causing these problems to only get worse. Hands-on activities will be modeled for use with students to introduce them to watersheds, the water cycle and the impacts due to climate change. We will also discuss the possible solutions that people can do on a daily basis to mitigate effects of our changing climate.

Keynote: Lisa Auermuller, "The Resilience Puzzle"

The Coastal Resilience Puzzle: What are the pieces? How do they fit together? What does it mean to be "resilient"? The strong partnership between Jacques Couteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JC NERR) and local communities, state agencies and NOAA's Office for Coastal Management, positions JC NERR well to put federal adaptation tools and decision-making support frameworks to work for the state. Since the "Getting to Resilience" technical assistance project launched in 2013, the JC NERR has assisted almost 60 New Jersey communities in implementing resilience planning, reducing vulnerability and increasing preparedness.

Lisa is the Assistant Manager at the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve. Her work combines the natural and social sciences to provide science-based information to educate coastal decision makers. She has been very involved in post-Sandy resilience planning at the local and state levels. Her work has been highlighted as both a national and international model. Additionally, Lisa is currently serving as the President of the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association (NERRA).